Embrace the Winter Snow
by DemonUntilDeath
Summary: A cold, winter night brought upon the worst tradgedy for the Reikai Tentei. Could another night, years later, rekindle a hidden hate and put more than just an unsovled murder at stake? Warning: Yaoi
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything. It's nothing new, it's nothing old...well, alright, it's pretty old.

**Notes:** This is almost a mystery sort of story because I won't be telling you what really happened _that_ night ((you'll find out in a few minutes what _that_ night relates too)) until the middle of the story or possibly the end. So HA!

Ahem- Anyways, don't get frustrated if you don't understand at first. It shouldn't be too hard to figure out nor should it be too confusing. So I hope you enjoy it, and please review at the end.

OOOOOOOO

Embrace the Winter Snow 

Chapter 1

OOOOOOOO

The winters were always coldest in the stony emptiness of Mukuro's halls. Thick snowfall insulated the palace, which was buried in four feet of the white powder.

Hiei growled as he stared at the trees, branches weighed down with the snow. Wind whipped over him, the cold biting at him like a knife. The window ledge he sat on slowly grew colder as the damp mildew of the early morning froze on the stone.

The diminutive fire demon gave another growl as he pulled his white scarf up, covering his mouth and nose. Wrapping his black cloak tighter around his small frame, he stared out into the white world.

He hated winter. The season only reminded him of the most painful things in his life, the worst memories. Winter only made him hate his own existence even more.

First brought on by the sight of snow and the bitter cold was the memory of the Koorime, his birthplace, his family, his home.

How he hated every one of those things. The land of the frozen-hearted Koorime, his birthplace, and his curse. For him, there was no such thing as home, nor such a thing as family. Not any more.

Thoughts of these last two things only brought on the second reason he hated winter. The same cold wind blew the night he left Ningenkai, the same frozen snow covered the ground in a blanket of white. Winter was the last time he had gazed upon the only other caring face in the world.

Kurama.

Hiei closed his blood red eyes at the memory of the fox. Happy moments were rare in his life and it cut him deep to know that most of them revolved around the kitsune.

The white-frosted forest greeted him once more again as he opened his eyes. _Then again_, he reminded himself, _he was also involved in one of the most painful memories_.

Which is where he links back into despising winter.

The fire demon shifted yet again, pulling the cloak around him tighter still. Indeed he was a fire demon, and an ice demon also, so he never did quiet reach an uncomfortable temperature concerning heat or chill. The motion was one more symbolic of protection, wrapping his own blanket around his fear and pain.

He pulled the cloak a little tighter.

But, as his insatiable depression returned to thoughts of the fox, his chamber doors opened. Hiei did not turn, nor did he even twitch as he, instead, gracing his guest with the sight of his back.

Mukuro, with a wave of her hand, instructed the guards flanking her to position themselves at the door of her heir's spacious room. Said fire demon sat, wordless, on the stone ledge of the window, back presented, and cold red eyes scanning the frozen landscape.

The robotic woman frowned slightly. Hiei had only sunken deeper into this weird depression he was in. It happened every winter, ever since he had come back, stating that he would no longer need leave to visit the Ningenkai. Mukuro was still unsure of what had happened.

"Good morning, Hiei," she began as she quickly yet quietly crossed the room. "How are you feeling on this cold day?"

"Skip the pleasantries, Mukuro," the fire demon said in a cold, smooth voice. "What meaningless task have you thought up for me this time?"

The mechanical lord smirked at her heir's back as she walked up to him. Making no effort to hide the expression, she leaned against the wall, watching Hiei stare into the forest.

"I am in need of a messenger," she began and paused, knowing Hiei would interrupt with disdain.

He did not disappoint her.

"Hn. Why tell me? You have hundreds of servants at your beck and call," he growled, eyes not leaving the white scenery.

"Ah, but for this I need a special messenger," Mukuro replied, her smile growling ever so slightly. Hiei did not look at her, nor made any sign of replying, so she continued, drawing her own gaze over the snow. "I need to get a message to Lord Urameshi of Torano."

At this, Hiei's head shot around. His cold, widened eyes stated at Mukuro. She glanced at him before looking back outside.

That had certainly gotten his attention.

"A messenger is needed right away and, seeing your relations with the lord, and your lack of activity, I have selected you for the mission."

There was a long bout of silence in which Hiei's deep crimson eyes searched Mukuro. He found nothing and his eyes grew cold, returning to the white world.

"Hn. A special messenger is not needed. Get someone else to take your damn message," he replied in a voice as cold as ice. Mukuro raised her real eyebrow, accustomed to, but still not approving, of Hiei's attitude.

"This is not a request; no choice is involved. You will be delivering my 'damn message.'" Hiei growled but said nothing more and so Mukuro chose to continue, "Here is the letter; I have sent it in ningen style to ensure no...complications occur."

She set a long wooden tube down on the stone beside Hiei. She turned and began walking back out. "Deliver it to Lord Urameshi. I will expect you back in seven days time."

"Hn," Hiei snorted in disdain, causing Mukuro to turn back towards him, "I will be back before the hour is over."

Mukuro frowned slightly. "Guards!"

Hiei looked over to her finally as the guards walked through the door, serious expressions on their faces and swords at their sides.

What was Mukuro thinking now?

"Lord Hiei is not to be emitted into the castle for one week's time." Hiei gave another snort as the guards nodded at the command and where dismissed to tell the rest of the palace guard.

As Mukuro turned back to the door, she added, "And Hiei, don't try to read that scroll."

But the fire demon was already gone.

OOOOOOOO

Yusuke whistled an absent-minded tune as he swept the ramen shop he now owned. Well, he and his wife, Keiko.

"Urameshi!" a voice, high pitched and, honestly, not the least bit manly, called from he front of the shop. With a smirk immediately finding his lips, Yusuke ducked under the doorway curtain and into the dining section of the restaurant.

No one was sitting there now, no one eating the food that was actually becoming well known in the parts. Of course, the fact hat it was almost eleven o'clock at night, along with the hanging "closed" sign, may have had a bit to do with the lack of life.

"Hey, Kuwabara!" the now-twenty-one year old called out, and his best friend grinned a silly smile.

"Where's the food?" he asked teasingly. Yusuke shrugged.

"You're late. No time-keeping skills; no food. You're loss!" Yusuke replied as he set the broom down. He gave a sigh as he looked around the spotless restaurant.

"Where's the Mrs.?" Kuwabara asked as he leaned to look around the ex-detective into the kitchen where the staircase was.

"Oh, Keiko went to bed," Yusuke replied. "I think she's coming down with something, so I offered to close up shop."

"Well, then, you wanna stop by an arcade?" Kuwabara asked, having never really matured past fourteen."

Then again, neither had Yusuke.

"Yeah," he replied happily, a smirk on his face, "let me just put the broom away."

"Alright. Then we can catch the-" Kuwabara never finished his sentence as a brief ki flickered over his senses. It was familiar, too familiar. Yusuke had frozen, too, looking up to meet Kuwabara's gaze.

The sound of the door behind the orange-haired man opening on its softly creaking hinges triggered the bell and it rang through the shop. Soft, almost soundless footfalls landed in the foyer of the restaurant. Booted footsteps.

"That's funny," Yusuke muttered, looking straight at Kuwabara.

"Yeah," the redhead continued, "because that almost sounded like-"

"-Hiei."

OOOOOOO

I know, short chapter. I normally write about ten pages' worth for one chapter, but these are all mostly short chapters. Sorry.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it and please review.


	2. Chapter 2

**Diclaimer**: Don't own it.

**Notes**: No new notes.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

_**Embrace the Winter Snow**_

**Chapter 2**

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"_That's funny," Yusuke muttered._

"Yeah," Kuwabara began, "because that almost sounded like-"

"Hiei." The two boys spoke simultaneously as they turned towards the door. Standing in the doorway was none other than Hiei. Only, he wasn't the Hiei that either remembered.

The fire demon had definitely changed.

He was dressed in a pair of deep black pants, which hid the top of his black boots (which was normal enough.) A long, ankle length tunic was wrapped around him, slitting up both sides until belted by a red sash (not normal! Not normal!) The tunic was midnight black with red designs of twisting ribbons around a fierce white dragon.

Yusuke was unnerved by the similarity of this outfit to Kurama's old fighting clothes.

Hiei had grown a few inches since the two men had last seen him. Surprising, considering that he had not grown over five feet in the century that had been his life. But he was definitely a few inches taller.

Kuwabara shrugged it off; it had to be something Mukuro was feeding him. Besides, what did he care? The Shrimp was still a Shorty.

His katana was strapped to his back with a black leather sling, probably for easier travel rather than the hip sheath, which could affect running. From what Yusuke could see, the fire demon had acquired a new one. At least, he didn't remember the last one having a silver hilt decorated in designs of twisting dragons and never-ending lines that were etched into the soft metal.

But maybe his vision was just going.

The fire demon's hair was different, also. The same unruly spikes jetted up against gravity, but the length had grown. His hair spiked more to the back where it was clenched tightly with a red tie. The mullet like ponytail wrapped over his shoulder, the silky stands of black and blue falling down to his chest.

Yusuke and Kuwabara said nothing as Hiei regarded them with the same, calm, emotionless, eyes. He did, however, allow a smirk to show slightly, mocking their surprised expressions. The fire demon started forward.

The raven-haired shop owner frowned. "What are you doing here, Hiei?"

The youkai paused, tilting his head slightly. "Does that mean you want me to leave, Detective?"

Yusuke's frown deepened. Hiei was acting much too…snooty. The fire demon eventually shrugged as it became obvious that Yusuke was not going to answer. Instead, Hiei held out his hand, which had been empty seconds before but now gripped a wooden cylinder. He handed it to Yusuke, who took it with a now-suspicious scowl.

It was a scroll tube made of deep mahogany wood and covered in a lid that was etched with the symbol of Alaric. Silver lining was etched around each base and the symbol of the top and middle engravings.

With another frown, he popped the lid off and dumped the tubes contents out onto the table. Picking up the light scroll, he opened the rolled paper and read the short letter rather quickly.

_Lord Urameshi,_

_I'm sending Hiei to you. He needs an attitude adjustment…that or a good hit to the head. And so I leave him in your capable hands. Take as long as you need._

_On a much lighter note, your advisors are starting a war with my borderline towns. Get your ass back to Demon World and fire them already!_

_As always,_

_Lord Mukuro._

Yusuke smiled slightly as his eyes scanned over the message, but the look disappeared as his gaze landed on Hiei. A slight frown replaced the expression yet again.

"What does it say?" Kuwabara asked and Yusuke handed him the letter. The orange-haired teen let out a laugh after scanning it. He rolled the scroll back up and slipped it into the tube.

"I'll send a messenger back to Mukuro and my advisors," Yusuke said as he took the scroll, glancing once again at Hiei. "How long are you planning on staying here?"

"Seven days," the fire demon answered briefly. Yusuke only nodded and turned to walk back into the kitchen. He walked past the doorway and into the hall of his house. As he grabbed some paper ad a pen, he could hear an outraged shout and the beginnings of a heated conversation.

'_Well, that didn't take long,'_ he thought. Although he prayed they did not wake Keiko, he made no sudden rush to stop them. As he wrote out two letters, he tucked them into the scroll tube and reentered the restaurant.

By that time Kuwabara was standing red in the face and hands balled into fists at his side. Hiei appeared calm; his hands in the pockets of his pants and face expressionless. Yusuke, however, noticed that there were harsh glints of anger in those blood red depths. Normal insults at Kuwabara had annoyance but never much rage.

That only told him that the topic of conversation that turned to a deadly subject for the two. ((Which…you don't get to know right now.)) Kuwabara let out a frustrated growl before his shoulders sagged. He turned to Yusuke.

"Sorry, Urameshi. I don't feel much like going to the arcade anymore. I'll see you tomorrow," he said. "Sorry if we woke Keiko."

"That's alright. See you tomorrow, Kuwabara."

He pushed past Hiei as he angrily stomped to the door. As he pulled open the door, he turned and growled, "Stay away from him, Hiei."

"Hn," the fire demon replied, eyes never leaving Yusuke. "What makes you think I would _want _to be near him?"

Yusuke could practically hear Kuwabara's teeth grinding as his hands shook. The orange-haired psychic growled but did nothing, cursing Hiei to the depths of Hell within his own private thoughts. In the end he did nothing more that stalk out the door, resisting the urge to slam it shut behind him.

Yusuke sighed, setting the tube down to remind him to summon a messenger demon in the morning.

"Well, I don't suppose you have a place to stay?" the raven-haired man asked with an exasperated sigh. Hiei replied with his customary 'Hn.'

'_Guess some things don't change,' _Yusuke thought coldly to himself. He looked back to the fire demon. "Well, you can stay here if you need to."

He began to lead the youkai upstairs to the rooms above the restaurant. Hiei followed without a world, surprisingly cooperative to Yusuke. However, as Yusuke made sure he was situated and turned to leave the guest room, he looked back at the fire demon.

"A word of warning, Hiei," he started, his voice serious and words more wise than the youkai remembered. Hiei was slightly surprised, though he didn't show it, at how much Yusuke had matured. "If you do choose to stay the week here, I advise you to leave Kurama alone."

"Hn. As I told the Fool, Detective, 'Why would I _want _to see _him_?'"

Yusuke could only turn away, not uttering a word but with sorrow deep in his eyes, unhidden. As the door slid shut, though, Hiei's sensitive hearing picked up the ex-detective's muttered words.

"Because you're running out of time to do so…We all are."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"Botan, can you fetch some more bandages?" Genkai asked as she slid the ancient temple door closed. The ferry girl nodded, coming up beside her. The two walked down the hall towards the front statue room, the walls reverberating in the shadows cast by Botan's candle in the dimming light.

"We are almost out, Master Genkai," Botan reported, her voice ever cheerful but now with an underlying tone of darkness. Genkai nodded.

"I'll go get some more tomorrow morning. Perhaps I'll bring back breakfast," she answered thoughtfully and Botan grinned.

"Um…" she began hesitantly after a small wave of silence had passed. Her smile saddened. "How is he?"

Genkai gave her a stern, searching look before drawing her eyes back to the hallway. "He has not improved much. In fact, I fear his condition may worsen soon."

"Oh, I was afraid you'd say that," Botan muttered with a sorrowful sigh. She said no more as the old master slid open another door and entered the kitchen. Botan dismissed herself to go gather more bandages, the last they had, as Genkai started on making tea.

Humming a rather slow tune quietly to herself in the dusk light, she bundled up the bandages she would need and headed back down the hall. Quieting her song, she opened the door to one of the extra healing rooms, trying to put a smile on her face.

She supposed it didn't work all that well, but she opened the door nonetheless.

The room was lit by nothing more that the streaks of silver moonlight that fled through the window as the changing trees blew in the wind, constantly casting moving shadows over the shining, silver light.

Cold wind swept into the room every so often through the partially opened window. The figure lying in the futon would not have it opened anymore and always requested, however politely, to leave it partially opened.

Said occupant was lying on the white, sheet-covered futon. He was sleeping lightly as he shivered every once in a while. The rest of the room was dreadfully bare, no other furniture in sight, nor any needed.

Botan walked over to the bed and knelt down, laying the bandages beside her.

Kurama was pale, his skin a sickly white. His lips seemed pale but they were still a darker shade than they had once been, and they contrasted with his skin, turning the already ashen-colored flesh even lighter.

Slowly, as Botan gently called to him, brushing his bangs to one side, the fox awoke. Kurama opened his green eyes, which were dark in the fading light. Botan always found herself looking away from the fox's eyes nowadays.

They were not what they used to be.

Instead of lively, they were dead. Instead of a spark of fiery flame, they were dull. Instead of the bright light they once held, they were pale and often glazed. Kurama no longer had that spark to him. His luster was gone, and had been for a while now.

In fact, empty was now the only word to describe those eyes. As empty as his soul.

"Konbonwa, Kurama," Botan greeted happily, trying to keep up her normally cheerful voice.

It worked for the most part.

Those green eyes focused on her and she tried so hard to look back into them. His face remained emotionless as he nodded back to her, a small forced smile tugging at his mouth.

"You seem to be doing better," she lied as she pulled the white sheet and comforter back down to the fox's waist. There were bandages wrapped around his lower abdomen but above his pubic area. They were pristine white and free of any blood, which had the ferry girl smiling.

She double-checked the bandages wrapped around his ribs and gave a nod of approval; little to no blood was there. Plus, from what she could see, it looked like the bruising had reduced again.

As she moved up his body, checking the bandages, she came across the old bloodstained ones wrapped around his neck. Botan gently unwrapped it, holding Kurama's head lightly in her lap. As she got the last wrap of the long bandage off, she held back a grimace.

A two inch long slice separated the skin on Kurama's neck. Through her vivid memories, she could almost see blood gushing out, the wound having been freshly cut through his jugular and larynx, muscles, veins, and nervous system. Beyond any meaning of the word luck, the fox had not been killed by the blade so many years ago.

The metal had gone deep enough only to scratch the air tunnel, not deep enough to allow any leakage of blood into the lungs. Saving him from blood loss had been a different story.

Botan shook her head as the memories of that mess of crimson liquid came back to her. She glanced back at the wound, now only a smeared mess of dry and wet blood leaking slowly out of the sliced skin. The area around the laceration was still red and purple, irritated and bruised as if sliced just yesterday.

Quickly, Botan cleaned the wound. Pressing a healing hand to it, she closed her eyes and concentrated as a golden blue glow surrounded the fox's thin neck, casting shadows over his pale skin, creating a ghostly effect.

Kurama's expression softened slightly as the building pain caused by his dammed up youki was lessened. Botan pulled her hands back and gave a soft smile.

The wound had lessened to nothing more that a fresh scar. The skin had pulled back together, stitching itself up with a heavy seal of dried blood and water, crusting to keep the skin together.

Although her healing should have had a much better effect, she had never been able to mend the fox fully, and regretted it with as much guilt as if she had been the one to hurt him.

Botan quickly rewrapped the wound; glad to hide it as she hid her own guilt. Kurama seemed much more relaxed, perhaps even genuinely for once. Unfortunately, for someone with the well-trained healer's eye, it was obvious that the fox had been in pain, despite how well he hid it.

The ferry girl checked his other minor injuries. They were just that: minor, nothing that was life threatening. That is, if they continued to stop the bleeding before it progressed into something much worse.

Botan sighed. This wouldn't have to happen every weekend if Kurama just refrained from returning to his daily activities, but he refused. The fox had been strong through the ordeal, but he refused to stop his college education, or his part-time job. The ferry girl feared that his stubbornness would be the death of him.

She gently laid Kurama back down, pulling up his sheets once again. "You should try to get some more sleep."

Kurama nodded but said nothing, so Botan continued, "Sorry to have woken you…You're leaving tomorrow, correct?"

Again, Kurama only nodded, his eyes beginning to droop. The ferry girl brushed his bangs to the side again and ran her fingers through the silky hair. Slowly, Kurama's face grew peaceful as he fell into a quiet, simple sleep.

Slowly, Botan stood from her kneeling position and exited the room. As she walked into the kitchen, Genkai came out, a cup in her hand.

"Kurama fell asleep," Botan said with a slight bow. Genkai looked down at the tea.

"Well, we shouldn't waste it, I guess. Come on; let's drink this up ourselves then. There's some more in the kitchen." The woman turned back around and walked into the doorway she had just come through. Botan followed her.

As the ferry girl poured herself a small cup of tea, she sat down across from Genkai. Silence followed as they drank, dwelling on their own thoughts.

"Tekara is coming in the morning," Genkai started up, suddenly disliking the silence she normally cherished.

Botan nodded. "She is very kind to come every week."

"I…told her she could stay. I never realized how quiet it is around here without Yukina," Genkai mused and another awkward silence passed over the two. Genkai finished her tea.

"She said she would." Botan looked up but did not reply. Having the demon wanderer at the temple everyday, with her weird manner of healing and all, would aid them a great deal, especially with Kurama's inability to recover. Not to mention that the temple was awfully lonely with only the old master these days.

"Well, I'm off to bed. I'll go get more bandages in the morning. It's too late now. You should return to the Rekai." Genkai stood from the low table and Botan did the same, bowing slightly to the master.

"Good night, Genkai. I will stop by tomorrow if I can."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

-Ring-

…

-Ring-

…

-Ri—

"What?" Yusuke's angry and only half-conscious voice barked into the receiver. Sleep was thick in those tones and his eyes blinked in the darkness of his room.

"Shizuru? Is that you? What's wrong; why are you crying?" Yusuke sat up as he asked these questions. His sleepy voice turned worried. Keiko stirred next to him.

"What!" Yusuke shouted out. Keiko started awake, blinking her eyes. Yusuke's voice grew hoarse. "No…This-this has to be a joke. Tell me you're joking, Shizuru. Tell me this is a cruel joke."

Keiko sat up as only silence answered. She could just make out Yusuke's silhouetted form. The blankets shifted as the phone dropped from the man's hand.

The girl sitting beside him gently touched Yusuke's shoulder. He jumped. "Yusuke, what's wrong?"

There was a long silence before Yusuke answered, his voice numb and nothing more than a dry whisper.

"Kuwabara's dead."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Ha! A partial-not-so-much-keep-trying-cliffhanger! O.O

Wow, this is crazy! Summer comes and suddenly I'm updating stories almost every day! WOW!

Anyways…ah, yes, author's notes!

**Authors Notes** (I seem to be very redundant)

…_stop his college education, or his part-time job…_ Yeah, yeah, I know all that crapolla about Kurama not going to college and working for his stepfather. So…after a year, he went to college but still keeps his job with his father at part-time.

I have been hinting slowly at what happened that night, mentioning things in a round about way that should throw questions into your mind. If anyone wants to take a wild swing at the piñata in the dark, be my guest!

For those of you who have no clue, don't worry! The more shock later, the better fun now…or something like that?

I think most of the info will come in chapters four and five with perhaps a flashback in six and seven…I'm not so sure. Most of this story is planned out, just not written out.

Oh, and some of you are probably wondering why the heck Kurama has to heal every weekend from cuts he got several years ago…well, you'll find out soon enough…or…was it eventually?

I can't remember…

Hope you guys enjoyed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything. It's nothing new, it's nothing old...well, alright, it's pretty old.

**Review Responses**: Thank you all for reading this story and I'm so glad you enjoyed it…what? Someone didn't enjoy it? Oh yeah…the guy in the way back who's booing…the guy with the pink shirt on…oh, well that…might explain some things…O.O

**KittyLuv**: Thanks. I'm glad it's enjoyable…and dark , Hope the chapter lives up to your expectations.

**KyoHana**: ooh, you're so very close! But no cigar…or…yeah, okay. Anyways, I'm not going to tell you what you're wrong on, but you are so very very close! I hope you enjoy this next chapter, and here's you're update already, Miss impatient. :D

**Kuranga108**: Oh, you're not too far off either. You guys seem to be getting the general idea, but there's a twist that no one's pinned down. Maybe this chapter will help. Lesse…I'm not going to say what's right and wrong, but if you compare it to what other people guessed, you may be able to figure some of it out on your own. :D

**Berbec**: Not bad. You are probably the closest of everyone, but you too didn't pick up on the twist. But I think that's my fault. I don't think I've given enough hints yet. You'll probably figure it out after this chapter though, or the one after. Good luck and enjoy!

**Notes**: All right! We are ready to find out what happened to Kuwabara! And don't worry all you Kuwabara-lovers, he might just make a guest appearance. Might.

Anyways, I'm not a Kuwabara-lover, but I don't hate him. He has his…purpose. Mostly clumsy humor, but he has his purpose.

Also, you never meet Kuwabara's parents, but I heard something about them being mentioned in the manga or something. But…I'm just going to say they're away on business or something. They're not important to the story, so I'm not writing them in it.

Also, I'm not a big fan of anything but Kurama/Hiei, however I will occasionally go for Kurama/Yusuke. There is a small hint of that, but there isn't any actual shounen-ai or yaoi involving the two. They just get close as Yusuke attempts to comfort the fox.

I hope that this will not bother any.

On another note, I do not see Kuwabara as gay in any manner at all. Nope, none sirrie! So, if it looks like Kurama/Kuwabara, it ISN'T. Now granted that with what Kurama has been through Yusuke and Kuwabara have both been trying to comfort him in any way. Yusuke, yes, probably comes across as trying to comfort him in a more romantic sort of manner, but Kuwabara was just doing what friends should do in the event of something as such.

But Kuwabara and Kurama's closeness is not romantic in any way and will be explained.

Well, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

-o-o-o-o-o-

_**Embrace the Winter Snow**_

**Chapter 3**

-o-o-o-o-o-

Yusuke sat with his head bowed, brown eyes dripping tears on hands he had covered his face with. Jean-covered knees were pressed up against his chest, elbows resting against them as he silently cried.

All around him were others in similar condition, mourning for their lost friend. Beside the raven-haired man, several feet separating her from everyone else, Shizuru sat numbly against the wall. Tears streamed from her red, unblinking eyes. An unlit cigarette hung from her mouth.

Yusuke couldn't think straight. Sitting everywhere around him were people he knew, but never the faces he saw. The faces were sad, tear-stained, and horror-struck. All of them were wrapped in black; everything was so sorrowfully black.

And sitting at the end of living room was an ornate, decorated coffin that currently held the best friend he'd ever had. Yusuke couldn't bring himself to accept it. Kuwabara could not be dead; he couldn't be that stupid stiff form in that dumb wooden box with the stupid cheesy picture above it.

It just couldn't be.

No more loud, obnoxious screaming. No more clumsy falls that ended up saving his life, or the lives of his friends, or the world.

The tears fell harder.

The raven-haired man looked up as the door to the Kuwabara residence opened. A light-blue haired girl walked quietly in, a pitch black kimono wrapped around her lithe form. It was anything but Botan's style, and Yusuke might have one time smiled at the bright pink obi that helped it look much more the ferry girl's style while still remaining appropriate.

"Hey," the teen-aged ferry girl whispered as she lowered herself next to Yusuke, oar pressed up against her side. She strikingly resembled the same posture the fire demon in the corner held.

Hiei sat tucked in a dark corner of the room, ignored by everyone. His katana was resting against his side as his knees were tucked up to his chest. Although Yusuke knew that he and Kuwabara had never been the best of pals, Hiei was still honoring the man, even if he looked like he was nodding off.

"Hey, Botan," Yusuke replied in a quiet voice, mimicking the level that the ferry girl had spoken. He wiped his tears away as he turned to her. "Any news from Koenma?"

"Just a bit," she replied, locking eyes with the raven-haired man. A sob racked through another of the mourners, cutting them off. Botan looked over before continuing quietly, "Kuwabara made it to the Reikai, under Ayumi's guiding. Koenma's trying to arrange a questioning, but there was something weird happening. I didn't get the details, but for some reason Kuwabara won't talk to anyone."

"What?" Yusuke hissed back. "But we have to know what happened! Whatever demon is responsible for his assassination, he could be after us too. And what with Kurama still…still… We have to get to this guy first.

"Besides," Yusuke continued, "I want to pound this guy's face into the pavement for what he did to my best friend."

Botan nodded. "But he's not talking to anyone. I thought that maybe if we brought you there, that he might open up or something."

"God damn it, this is just like Kura-" Yusuke froze mid sentence, eyes going wide. He shot a look at Botan, whose own pink eyes had widened too. "Oh my god, why didn't we see it before?"

"Shh!" Botan hissed as half the other people in the room, including those who were kneeling before Shizuru, looked over to them.

"I can't believe we didn't see it!" Yusuke continued in a hushed voice. "Kurama closed himself up after that demon attacked him that night!"

"And now Kuwabara's gone and shut himself up the same way!" Botan finished, almost jumping up and down at the conclusion. "So that means-"

"Whoever hurt Kurama is the one who killed Kuwabara!" Now any other detective may have figured this out several minutes prior to that moment, but Yusuke and Botan make a good ditz of a team together.

"So then…" Yusuke whispered, "don't take me to Kuwabara; take me to Kurama!"

"But, Yusuke," Botan argued back, eyes drawing down to the ground. "Five years is a long time for an assassin to lie low."

"Yeah…but it has to be the same one! There has to be something about this one demon that makes it so that neither want to tell us who attacked them. But we have to find out…" Yusuke looked over at Shizuru. "If only so we can let her know that we avenged him. That reminds me…No one told Kurama about Kuwabara. I mean…he has a right to know."

Botan nodded. "Of course. I'll go tell him immediately, and Genkai too. I was going over there after I stopped here. It…I don't know how well he's going to react, Yusuke."

"If he reacts at all," the man muttered sourly. Throwing a quick glance at the apparently sleeping fire demon in the corner, he looked over at Botan. "I'll get Hiei out of the place in about ten minutes. I can keep him preoccupied for about a half hour, so make it quick."

Botan nodded and stood from her kneeling position. Taking the oar with her, she walked softly over to Shizuru, kneeling down. Muttering quiet words of respect, she bowed and stood, gently touching the older woman's shoulder.

Shizuru remained unresponsive and numb.

-o-o-o-o-o-

The soft churning of a distant waterfall turning water over river rocks and the gentle call of birds floated through the partially open window. The fresh smell of pines and oak drifted after it, carried by the soft and periodic breezes that swept through the room.

Crystal green eyes opened as a leaf blew into the room, landing on the soft skin of Kurama's cheeks. Raising a sore and tired arm, he gently took the dark red leaf into his hand. With emotionless eyes, he looked over the foliage, memorizing its every detail.

Long, thing fingers suddenly slipped on the soft skin and he watched with almost saddened eyes as it was swept out the window. Not seconds later, the paper door of his temple room slid open.

Standing in the doorway was the aged master of the temple, her faded pink hair waving around her shoulders. Kurama tilted his head to the side as Genkai walked into the room. She didn't have her _'Don't-give-me-that-bullshit'_ walk about her today.

In fact, if Kurama was correct in reading her movements, the master was troubled and held great sorrow in her brown eyes.

Behind Genkai was another woman, only much younger. Her black kimono, which was definitely not the traditional kimono, stopped above just below her hips, showing off a female figure. It was layered in black and white silk and the V-neck dropped all the way to the white sash that tied it together, but the multiple layers of silk hid everything up to her collarbone.

Not exactly the typical kimono. Beneath that were blue jeans, her seriously misguided attempt to blend into Japanese society. She eventually took the strange looks people gave her as normal, everyday looks. Black, steal toed boots laced up to her shins, hidden by the jeans.

The top layer of her straight hair was black and fell down to her mid shoulders. The second layer beneath fell to her mid back and was the purest white. Long white bangs fell around her deep green eyes.

Kurama tilted his head even farther to the side. Tekara's eyes were normally happy, smiling, and completely ignorant. Only, today they were sad and uncommonly depressed.

"Fox-boy," Genkai began and Kurama's eyes turned to her, "we need to talk to you."

The fox nodded and so Tekara stepped over to him even as Genkai continued, "Botan has just stopped by, and is waiting outside to take you to Kuwabara's house." Tekara kneeled down and checked briefly over the new wrappings that Botan had applied the night before.

Even as she nodded approvingly, Kurama gave a questioning look to Genkai, clearly stating his confusion. The master nodded and continued, "This…this isn't easy for me to say, Kurama. And it's going to be even harder for you to hear."

Kurama's ears perked up at this, as Genkai hardly ever called him by his name, preferring a simple nickname concerning his canine attributes. He gently lifted his arm as Tekara tested out the durability of his newly scarred wounds.

"Kuwabara…was assassinated last night," Genkai reported rather bluntly, not the kind known to be soft when it came to harsh reality. To be said rather bluntly, Kurama was beyond shock.

His entire body practically froze up as his eyes reached a size that was almost beyond imagination. He stared at Genkai in utter disbelief and horror. The master stared back at him, her own eyes softened by the sadness she felt at the loss.

"I'm sorry, Kurama," Genkai continued, breaking eye contact to glance at the wooden floors. She was acting very different from her unbreakable self. "I know that Kuwabara was a good friend, and that you two became very close after what happened that night.

"And that's why…Koenma sent Botan to bring you to the Reikai, to talk to Kuwabara." Kurama's shock and doubt was soon replaced with his almost expressionless face, leaving only sadness and curiosity in those green depths.

Genkai continued at his inquisitiveness. "Kuwabara won't talk to anyone about what happened or who killed him. And we have- well we've come to the conclusion that this assassin could very well be the same that tried to take your life five years ago."

Kurama's eyes grew so fearful and sorrowful at the same time that the emotions became so overwhelming that they turned unreadable, and he quickly looked away, hiding his thoughts from the old master. Genkai gave a light sigh, looking to Tekara. The young demon smiled.

"Well, his wounds are doing fine, quite well enough for travel. However, I think I'll have to see him again later this afternoon. But I will meet you on your own territory," she reported, almost oblivious to the conversation, or at least seemingly oblivious.

Genkai nodded and extended an aged hand to the redheaded man. With his own thin hand, Kurama gently took the master's hand and pulled himself up. Tekara watched him in an almost hawk-eyed manner, observing his ever move to compare it with how his wounds were allowing movement.

"Fox," Genkai began as Kurama stood, brushing his hair over his shoulder, "I know that you don't want to do this, that's obvious enough. But we need to know who killed Kuwabara; we have to be on the look out for him again."

"Especially with you injured," Tekara cut in. The two glanced over at her and she offered a comforting smile.

"Yes, whoever did this is likely to attempt another try on your life," Genkai continued. She knew the danger in telling the fox that, making him realize the severity in the situation. Kurama had not divulged a single clue about his attacker, even after five years.

And although Genkai had a rising suspicion as to why, she kept it to herself. She still did not know who could put so much fear in the kitsune.

"Well, you should get going, Kurama," Tekara began, leaving his side to begin walking across the room. "I'll fetch you something to wear and then you and Botan can head over to Kuwabara's house, okay?"

Whether it was okay with the fox or not seemed to make no difference in the situation, so Kurama did nothing to reply. As Tekara left, Genkai placed a hand on Kurama's forearm, beneath the cut off of the Yukata-style robe.

"Kurama," the master began in a voice that shocked the fox. Her own sadness was peeking through the tough exterior barriers she always had up. Her sentimentality towards the fox relayed how much she was truly sympathetic and sorrowful.

"I know this is hard on you," she almost whispered, her voice was so soft. Kurama's deep green eyes were captured in her brown gaze. "I know you don't want to think about this, but for everyone else's sake, please try to talk to Kuwabara."

There was a long pause in which Kurama just stared into the elder master's eyes. After long moment's passed, and the sound of Tekara's footsteps echoed back down the hall, Kurama looked away to the floorboards.

He gave a nod as the young demon healer returned.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Yusuke looked up as the door to the Kuwabara residence once more opened. By this time, as the day dawned on and evening was already soon on it's way, most of the mourners had left. The only ones remaining were Yusuke, Keiko, and Kuwabara's three school friends.

"Kurama," Yusuke greeted as he climbed to his feet. Shizuru looked up at the name, her first response that entire day.

The redhead walked calmly into the room even as his insides turned and churned in pain, sorrow, and sinking depression. His green eyes gave no comfort but for the help that his simple presence permitted.

Yusuke stopped in front of him, pausing for a brief moment before he swept the fox into a hug. Kurama stiffened at first before he slowly relaxed and wrapped his thin frame around the raven-haired man. After a few seconds, Yusuke pulled away, looking into the sad green eyes.

"It's good to see you," Yusuke whispered in a voice that was almost relieved. He glanced the fox up and down, for all the good it did him. He couldn't see the fox's bandages through the heavy black kimono he wore. "Are you doing alright?"

Kurama nodded, offering a smile through his eyes. Gently, however, he pulled away from the raven-haired man to walk slowly past Kuwabara's three school friends (all of which were staring rather surprised at Genkai and Botan who had stepped in after the fox) When the kitsune reached Keiko, she through her arms around his neck, hugging his lithe form.

Although surprised, the fox reacted quicker this time and wrapped his arms around the young woman. She was sobbing into his kimono.

"Kurama," she whispered through her sobs. "Please…please." Kurama looked down into her eyes as she grasped the cloth of his clothes. "Please…who did this? They say it was an assassin. They say he might come after you and Yusuke!"

The fox looked down for a second, thinking over the words before he wrapped Keiko in a tighter hug, comforting her the best he could for all the awkwardness in the situation. Quietly, as she just continued crying, he pulled away, offering her a similar smile as he did Yusuke.

Lastly, he came to Shizuru, who had been watching him the entire time he was in the room. As he knelt down, she watched with widened eyes as he bowed before her, offering his respects. After long moments, he sat back up to his kneeling position.

Before he even had a chance to comfort Shizuru, she flung herself into his arms, wrapping them around his neck. He yet again wrapped his arms around a sobbing woman as she pressed herself into the cloth of his Yukata.

"Kurama," she sobbed, pulling away. Softly, she put her hands on either side of his face. Her tear-stained cheeks glistened as light shined in through one of the windows. Kurama's face was dry.

"I know you…I know you're crying for him on the inside, Kurama," she sobbed out, holding him in her hands. "Please…You two had grown so close. Please tell me who killed him! Please!"

Kurama couldn't look into her eyes anymore. His gaze drew away and she broke down at his answer, sobbing as she sank back into his chest. The only thing he could do was wrap his arms around her and hold the woman as she cried for her lost brother.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Nearly half an hour later, Keiko gently took over Kurama's place in comforting Shizuru and the fox backed away from the dry sobs of the woman. As he bumped into something, he turned around to face Yusuke, the teen's face sober.

"I'm coming with you to the Spirit World," he informed the kitsune, who composed himself quickly and nodded. Gently, Yusuke took Kurama's arm, leading him to the door. "Are you still feeling up to this?"

Kurama turned at his whisper, frowning slightly. Although the question was legitimate, Yusuke was pushing him rather quickly towards the door. He gently pulled his arm out of the man's grip. He nodded to his question, but glanced around the room.

Shrugging his shoulders, he threw Yusuke a questionable glance. Yusuke glanced at Botan before looking at Kurama. "Um, I know everyone is in Mourning and there isn't any particular rush, but Koenma's real busy today. He has a lot to do, and Kuwabara can't wait for the entire day."

Although the kitsune frowned, he seemed to buy the little fib and started towards the door yet again. Yusuke let out a breath of air he had been holding in and started after him when the fox suddenly froze.

The blowing breeze through the window brought with it a flittering ki signal that froze everyone who could sense the suppressed energy. Yusuke's little celebration about Kurama taking in his fib was all blown out as soft black boots touched down on the windowsill.

"Next time, Detective, get your own damn messen-" The cold words stopped mid-sentence, drawing into a hiss and Yusuke slowly turned to Hiei, who jumped lightly to the carpet. He stood, giving that general direction such a fierce stare that Yusuke soon began to worry that the hiyoukai might let loose his dragon.

"Hie-" Yusuke never even finished the first word to his Calm-The-Fire-Demon-Down speech as Kurama slowly turned around behind him, his red hair suddenly blowing around his face with the now open window. Silky strands blew in front of his piercing green eyes as he stared into Hiei's red ones.

"Come on, Kurama," Botan urged the fox, gently taking a hold of his arm. He did not move and she pressed closer to him. "Come, Kurama."

Hiei was staring with a look so venomous that Yusuke quickly placed himself between the fox and the fire demon. Yet, Kurama did not move. He remained stoic with Botan's hand on his arm as he stared emotionlessly back at Hiei.

"Kurama," Yusuke began in a voice that would strike anyone away from their trance-like thoughts. Kurama's piercing green eyes focused on the raven-haired man. "Get out of here. Now."

The fox stared at his ex-leader for quite some time before he slowly turned. Pulling his arm away from the ferry girl, Kurama started slowly out the door. He began to gain speed however as he reached the street and Botan shouted out as he took off at a dead run away from the Kuwabara residence.

"Kurama!" Yusuke spun at her shout and he shot Hiei one deadly glare that simply dared him to follow. As Hiei only snorted in reply, Yusuke turned and took off after the fox, who was already being chased by a ferry girl on an oar.

"Kurama stop!" Botan shouted out even as Yusuke's demon speed aided him in passing her as a blur. He followed the fox as Kurama jumped a small, black iron fence and entered a heavily treed park. Yusuke jumped it almost right behind him, gaining on the kitsune.

"Stop!" Yusuke shouted as he had almost reached within range to catch his friend. Only, now they were in Kurama's element, and Yusuke had a much harder time keeping up with the fox's grace as they raced over tree roots and untamed wild growth.

However, it didn't last. The hanyou began to notice Kurama's draining energy as the fox began to slow, his grace ever in tact but his speed dwindling. As he ducked beneath a low pine, managing to jump over the large uprooted ends at the same time, he entered a small, secluded clearing that was enclosed by thick trees.

Even as his feet landed on the dead leaves and needles that made up the floor of the small area, he was tackled from behind and he and Yusuke tumbled to the floor. Minding his friend's injuries, Yusuke rolled slightly as he managed to take down Kurama. The smallest spin landed both him and Kurama on their sides, lessening the impact and additive injury.

"Don't…do that again," Yusuke muttered as he stood up. Not even out of breath, worry edged into his mind as Kurama's chest lifted in wheezing breaths. Quickly, the hanyou bent down and grabbed Kurama's arm, picking him up to a sitting position.

"You all right, buddy?" he asked as he sat down next to him. Kurama didn't look at him as his breathing slowed but the wheeze remained. "You shouldn't be running. Not only will you reopen your wounds, but you know your health and energy have been dwindling lately."

Kurama only nodded, still refraining from looking up into his friend's eyes. After only seconds of nodding, the fox slowly ceased his movements and began shaking his head. Yusuke frowned and gently lifted the fox's chin.

He took in a deep breath as he revealed deep green eyes that were watery. Scooting onto his knees and moving closer to the fox, he lifted his other hand to cup Kurama's cheek with a soft touch.

"Kurama, listen to me," he spoke in a stern, but comforting voice as he gently turned Kurama's face up to his own. "It's okay to cry. It's okay."

But Kurama only shook his head, blinking away the water that gave his eyes the glossy cover. Yusuke looked about to argue when Botan burst through the trees. She was breathing heavily, oar in hand but stopped upon seeing the two, sitting close together with Yusuke cupping Kurama's cheek.

She blushed a deep red.

"Yusuke!" she all but shouted out, stalking over to him. Before he could move, he found himself flying halfway across the clearing from an oar to the side of his head. Kurama was staring at the place where Yusuke had until recently been, green eyes wide.

Botan huffed as she lowered the oar. Yusuke jumped to his feet, a hand pressed against the bump forming on his head.

"What the hell was that for?" Yusuke shouted, taking an eagle-spread stance as he waved his free hand in a fist at the ferry girl.

"Well you shouldn't have been fondling Kurama!" Botan shouted back, her cheeks bright red as she gripped her oar. Yusuke's eyes widened and he began to sputter. But before he could get out a full retort, he and Botan both froze at a soft sound.

They turned slowly to see Kurama, the back of his hand pressed against his mouth as he gave a soft chuckle. Yusuke stared wide-eyed as the fox lowered his hand, smiling at the two. Even though the little giggling spout hat not lasted long, it was the first resemblance to a laugh that had been heard from the fox in the last five years.

"Kurama?" he asked as he went back to the fox, sitting beside him once again. The kitsune gave him a soft smile, his eyes seemingly amused as they had not been in such a long time. Yusuke gently returned the smile with a silly grin.

"We should get going," Botan interrupted, feeling the need to hit Yusuke once again if only to cover the light blush that covered her cheeks.

Kurama only nodded, the smile vanishing as if it had never been there to begin with.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Kuwabara stood beneath a blossoming tree; it's dark purple leaves contrasting with its white bark. The deep yellow blossoms that hung from the tree were indescribable in comparison to their beauty. Soft, pliable bark covered the many branches and almost twisting trunk as it sunk into the brilliance of the green grass beneath the man's feet.

Sighing in content but nothing more, Kuwabara retired himself to simply staring up into the many folds of the radiant tree. In this world not so far from his home of the Ningenkai, the man spent his dreary days in resonant silence.

And it was doing so, in the trance-like manner of which he passed time, that Kuwabara did not notice the soft, almost weightless footfalls until the simple sweet melody of a voice came to him.

"Hello, Kuwabara."

The man turned to find Kurama standing behind him in the grassy hill lands just beyond the Reikai palace. The kitsune wore a dark black kimono, a sign of mourning. Kuwabara traced the silky cloth down, taking in the lithe form that had lost more weight than he had last remembered.

And, of course, the smile brought to his face by the fox's lack of shoes.

"Kurama," he greeted back, the sound of his voice floating on the gentle breeze that carried the scent of fresh trees just beyond their reach. The fox bent his head slightly in a greeting, choosing to walk up to the orange-haired man.

As he neared, Kuwabara tried to offer a comforting smile, but it came across weakly. Kurama shook his head gently, signally that such attempts were not needed. Sighing, Kuwabara's shoulders sagged and he looked towards the ground.

"How hav-" Kuwabara was cut off as arms were wrapped around his thick and muscular chest. His eyes widened slightly as Kurama hugged him. His initial surprise was quickly cut short as he carefully enwrapped his friend in a returning hug.

"I can't believe this really happened," Kurama whispered. Kuwabara nodded as his mind processed the thought.

"I know, but there isn't anything that can be done now," Kuwabara answered, keeping his voice somewhat low. For some reason, this entire world seemed to have a fragile, glass-like state to it and having the weakened Kurama present did not aid in stabilizing its seemingly frail condition.

"…There could be," Kurama replied, gently releasing his hold on Kuwabara. Upon hearing this, the man let go of Kurama and stepped back, giving the fox some room. He stared into his friend's green eyes before silently shaking his head.

He couldn't answer the question that was hidden in those forest colored depths.

"I can't, Kurama…" Kuwabara replied as he glanced away, biting his lip, as his words seemed to float away. He couldn't help but look back at the fox, an urgent need to speak what had been on his mind ever since his death.

"But I know now why you won't talk of what happened!" he spoke in a excited voice of urgency that somehow held a silent plea. Kurama watched him as he began pacing in front of the tree, green emotionless eyes following him. "I understand why you will not let me tell the others what you say. I get it all, Kurama!"

The fox did not move as Kuwabara took hold of his shoulders and repeated the last words. Slowly, as he looked up into Kuwabara's eyes, he replied, "And that is why, like me, you will not tell of who killed you."

Kuwabara's excited plea seemed to die at the statement and he lowered his head, pressing weight onto Kurama's shoulders. Keeping his black eyes locked on the swaying green grass beneath their feet, he nodded. "No. I will no more tell who killed me than ask Koenma for my life back."

Kurama only nodded. Although it was much harder to tell, the fox could only agree with Kuwabara's answer. After all, who would believe them?

And if someone believed them, was it what they really wanted?

Kurama gently laid his hands on Kuwabara's arms and he looked back up at him, somewhat surprised by the action. Kurama gave a small but true smile. "I understand, Kuwabara, and will not ask you for anything more."

Kuwabara gave a nod of thanks as that thought registered in his mind will all the others. Kurama motioned for them to sit down beneath the purple-leaved tree and Kuwabara gladly followed his lead.

Turning to Kurama, he chose to take the subject off of the night of his death, already having the fox's promise not to be asked any more on the topic.

"So, how have you been?"

-o-o-o-o-o-

Alrighty! I know this chapter was a little on the short side; just a little. But, hey, I kinda liked the ending.

If you haven't noticed, there was a large hint in the last bit about something having to with…well…something. Actually, there was a large hint in the entire thing, but… . I want to see how many people have any idea of what I'm talking about.

Kit: Obviously, it has to do with _that night_. Oooh, get excited.

You moron! I didn't tell them for a reason!

Kit: -eyebrow raise- uh-huh, like half of them didn't figure that out on their own.

…Shuddup.

Anyways, please review. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** Okay...You all know the drill, and saying this every chapter is, frankly, devastating on the self esteem. I mean...I don't...own...it...I think I'm going to cry. T.T

**Review Responses**: Thank you everyone who was kind enough to review! I hope you all enjoy this next chapter.

I want to thank everyone who took a guess at what happened. It is truly enjoyable to read the responses I get from this story. Not to mention helpful! It allows me to know what I am not explaining enough of and so on and so fourth. So thank you all!

Also, I'm happy that you all got the main plot so quickly. That is, that Yukina was killed. I don't even think I mentioned her name once in the story and yet you all did a superb job at keeping up!

**Evene**: Not a sad attempt at all! You are close, but still missing a few key pointers (missing or incorrect 8D and no one has gotten close to the twist at all. But hey, if I was reading this story instead of writing it, I'd be farther off then the rest of you.)

I hope this chapter helps some.

**Kuranga108**: Good! You're supposed to be confused ) If it were easy to get, I wouldn't have put it in! You're close on the known killer along with the talk-only-to-Kuwabara thing, but no one actually made sense of why Kurama doesn't talk to anyone but Kuwabara. Yours was a good guess, but unfortunately not correct. Actually, the reason he only talks to Kuwabara is much more physical that psychological. Good luck and keep guessing!

Oooh, and a small hint (that I think I put in the story): Kurama told **no one **of what happened.

**Berbec**: B-day? Uh...I'd give you a cookie, but I spent all my time figuring out who stole a cookie from the cookie jar instead of just going and buying some more. D Happy late B-day. And no, if you're idea pertains to youko playing a major or slightly major role than I apologize but you are not correct. However, parts of your theory might be very close. If you wish, e-mail me your idea at KitsuneLover12 That way, no one else gets the give away.

Good luck and keep trying!

**KyoHana**: Story slut? O.O ...Okay, I haven't heard that term before...maybe I'm out of the loop or something...-shakes head- Anyways, yes: something happened to Yukina. However, the reason for Kurama's silence and then Kuwabara's silence is not pertaining to the fact that it was Yukina who was killed.

**HieiKuramaFan**: Oh, thank you so much. I'm so glad you like my story. Hey, not to be pushy or conceited, because I don't think I'm all that good, you might want to read some other of my stories, or go see Agent Dark Moose's stories. She's good too. (My fav's are Shadow House, Death Dimension, and Akumu) I hope you might enjoy those stories, too. Plus, Agent Dark Moose rocks.

Thank you all again and I hope you enjoy this chapter! Hopefully it will be enlightening! Oooh, and revealed within is the real reason Kurama only talks to Kuwabara. Now...should I make it obvious or have you guys keep guessing...

Kit: If you don't actually come out and say it soon, the readers are going to give up on you.

Shadow: Besides...you kinda need to say it. You sort of planned the story that way, moron.

...I did?

Oh, I forgot to mention a while ago...Second chapter I think. The outfit that Tekara is wearing is a real outfit. I was recently to Japan (like five months ago...is that recent? no...not really) and went down a street known to be Tokyo's major Teen-Hang out street. It was crazy! Like...Goth and punk central! It rocked! Anyways, it looked like a kimono except with a belt instead of an obi and it stopped at about your hips. Would have loved to buy it, but it was a wee bit expensive. D

-o-o-o-o-o-

**_Embrace the Winter Snow_**

**Chapter 4**

-o-o-o-o-o-

Koenma sat quietly behind his desk, hands folded neatly on top of the yellow-painted top. Dark brown hair was hastily blown out of his eyes as slender strands fell in front of his eyes. Those hazel brown orbs were focused on the tall, thin figure standing in the center of the room.

Long silky strands of red hair were tied up in a high ponytail, leaving only loose strands and bangs to fall around his face. Bright green eyes were staring back at the young lord, returning the focus that was given to him.

Finally, after long moments of a simple staring silence, Koenma sighed. "Kurama, I know that talking to Kuwabara…after his assassination nonetheless, couldn't have been easy on you. But…the Reikai has no information on who killed Kuwabara…or who attacked you.

"I know that, for some reason, you will not tell us who hurt you, Kurama. I was only hoping that maybe Kuwabara would." Koenma glanced down at his hands, unfolding them to shift some random papers around on his desk.

He glanced back up, turning those hazel eyes back to Kurama. The fox was standing stoic, unemotionally staring back into the lord's eyes. After another moment, Koenma sighed and lowered his gaze.

"Alright, that's okay, Kurama." Koenma picked up another random paper, as if he was uncomfortable with the conversation he was discussing. "Um, were you planning on attending your classes this week?"

Kurama seemed to frown at the question, his brow furling some as he tilted his head to the side ever so slightly as if to say _'Why wouldn't I be?'_ Koenma sighed and nodded at the silent response.

"I would…rather you not go to school this week, Kurama," Koenma suggested nervously. As Kurama's frown deepened, the lord continued. "With a new assassin on your tail and all the problems we are currently undergoing, it would be best if you are where we can keep an eye on you. To ensure your safety, of course."

The definition meant by _problems_ was left unspoken, but was obviously pertained to a certain red-eyed fire demon. Kurama didn't react to this at all, but instead retained a cool, steeled gaze. It was also obvious that this "suggestion" was not only to protect Kurama, but also the other college students that would be present around him.

Not to mention that using him as bait would be a lot easier if they could be closer to him.

Kurama shook his head immediately. He would not allow his life to be uprooted by the occurrence of a new demon and the chance of death. He was used to it by now and refused to bend life around caution. Even as Koenma tried to argue his point, the fox remained stubborn and simply rejected every form of compromise offered.

Finally, the Junior Lord of Spirit World gave up with a heavy sighed. Looking back up, Kurama was bathed in stern eyes. When he spoke, Koenma's voice left no room for argument, turning much more into the voice that a lord or general would have.

"Kurama, I didn't want to have to do this but you haven't left me any other choice. I'm ordering you to remain at the temple until further notice," Koenma demanded. Kurama's eyes narrowed slightly, the only sign of his anger, but he, as always, said nothing.

"Now I understand that you'll need to inform your boss at your part time job that you won't be attending for a week. Did I also understand correctly when you said that you had work tonight?" Koenma asked, his tone still overly serious for the more childlike ruler.

Kurama nodded.

"Then that will work perfectly. You may inform Asato that you won't be there on my orders," Koenma informed the kitsune. Kurama said nothing and the godling gave a sigh, his voice dropping some of its demanding tone. "I know that you enjoy your job, Kurama, and so I hate to take it away from you, but it's only until we catch the assassin."

When the fox made no reply, the lord motioned to the side of the room, where Yusuke stood leaning against the wall, arms crossed and head down as if asleep. "Now, I am signing Yusuke on to guard you. I don't want you anywhere without him in reachable distance in case of an emergency."

Kurama gave a deep frown but Koenma did not waver. "Now, given your situation, that can't be very far away. So you will stay at the temple with Genkai and Tekara. I will have wards added and Yusuke will remain there with you for extra insurance."

Yusuke was looking up by now, his brown eyes also trained on the fox. Kurama did not seem happy. By this time, his fists were loosely clenched and his eyes were beginning to burn in anger. Ignoring Koenma as the lord continued with the "extra insurances," Kurama turned and began walking out of the office.

Although Koenma's calling of his name did not stop him, the hand on his wrist did. He turned his eyes to the side, retaining his straightforward posture. Yusuke was standing, arm outstretched to wrap around the thin wrist, his legs halted in a long step.

"Don't," he whispered. Kurama paused, no longer exerting a steady pull against the kitsune. He raised a silent eyebrow in an unquestionable question. "We're just trying to help you. I don't want to lose another friend, Kurama. I can't loose you, too."

Kurama could not draw his eyes away from the leader of the Reikai Tentai. As deep brown eyes bore into his near empty soul, he gave up his struggle and simply pulled his arm away from Yusuke. Drawing his eyes away from him, he turned and walked out of the office.

"Well?" Koenma urged, looking at the detective in the room. Yusuke shrugged, looking at his boss with wide eyes. "Get going! Follow him!"

Yusuke rolled his eyes but ran out of the office after the quickly retreating kitsune.

-o-o-o-o-o-

"Kurama, will you wait up?" Yusuke shouted down the hall as Kurama continued through palace at a fast pace. When it was obvious that the kitsune wasn't going to slow down, Yusuke broke into a swift run and quickly caught up to the fox.

Choosing to be wise for once, Yusuke did not touch the fox but instead walked up to pace with him. "Kurama, please…I know what you are thinking. We are not using you as bait."

When Kurama did nothing to respond, Yusuke finally did grab his arm, halting him in his steps. Piercing green eyes focused a glare on him, the kitsune's mouth set in a scowl. Yusuke met him with a similar frown.

"I won't put your life at risk, Kurama. Not to catch an assassin, not to help Koenma. If I thought you were in danger…" Yusuke sighed, his voice dropping its urgent tone to level at a more desperate sound. "I wouldn't agree with Koenma if you were in danger. I would never put you in that situation, Fox-boy."

"I **won't** let you get hurt, Kurama." The fox's narrowed eyes widened at this, taking a step back. Before Yusuke could even make a mental note to remember the kitsune's reaction, Kurama's eyes flashed dangerously.

"What would you know of hurt?" The scream was accompanied by so much anger and fear that Yusuke reeled, stumbling backwards. As the sound finished echoing, the man blinked as his head began to pound in a fierce headache.

He looked at the fox in shock, surprised to see the lithe body shaking. Even as Yusuke took a step forward, Kurama countered it with a step back. "You…you don't know anything."

"Kurama…" Yusuke took a step towards him. Said kitsune backed against the hallway wall as Yusuke paused in his approach.

"You don't know anything..." With that, Kurama slid down to the ground, knees drawn up to his chest and eyes shut tightly as his body shook with the effort to keep in the sobs desperate to get out. He buried his head against his chest, allowing the loose strands and bangs of his hair to cover his eyes.

Slowly, Yusuke bent down in front of him, settling into a crouch as he balanced on the balls of is feet. As the fox gave no recognition of the detective's presence, Yusuke leaned in and lifted his chin. Kurama opened fierce eyes that were cold and defensive, trying desperately to keep back the tears that were just beginning to form over the glassy cover of his eye.

"You're right. I don't know anything, and won't unless you tell me." Yusuke paused in his words. Kurama looked slightly to the right, hiding his inability to simply say what was wrong. After the moment of truth came and passed and Yusuke heard nothing more from the fox, he continued, "But until the day that you can tell me, I can only know what I know, and I know that I will never hurt you, Kurama."

Kurama watched him with those wide green eyes. Doubt flittered through them quickly followed by sentimentality, then scorn for the sentimentality, and finally emotionless steel. Finally, he settled on staring emotionlessly at Yusuke.

The man took it as a good sing, an affirmative that Kurama agreed to Koenma's plan. Slowly, as if cautious that Kurama might once again take off, he released the fox's arm. Kurama did nothing at first, staring at the Detective with stoic eyes and posture, before turning and walking away.

Yusuke followed behind him as the fox made his way through the Reikai Palace. As they walked through the Hall of Judgment, Yusuke jogged up to walk beside Kurama. They said nothing, Yusuke unsure of what to say and Kurama no longer having the strength nor emotional stamina to attempt conversation.

Finally, Yusuke looked over to Kurama. "You spoke to me."

The fox looked over, momentarily surprised at the choice of subject but quickly regained his expressionless gaze. With a simple nod, he continued as if he spoke to Yusuke ever day of the week. The detective was much more enthusiastic.

"But you spoke to me, Kurama!" he continued in an almost excited manner. "You haven't been able to talk to anyone but Kuwabara. What got you through to me?"

Kurama gave a sigh, realizing that Yusuke was not going to drop the inquisitive excitement until he got an answer. Yusuke would know...or at least should know that Kurama did not have the strength to do so again, so he raised his hands.

He made several swift motions and gestures with his fingers and Yusuke "Oh"-ed. With a roll of his eyes, the fox turned and started down the hallway yet again. As he approached the giant double doors that led to the rest of Reikai, Yusuke stopped.

"Wait a minute... _I _made you angry? How angry?"

-o-o-o-o-o-

Tekara sighed for the seventh hundred and eighty-second time. She'd been counting.

"Do you think I got here a little early?" she asked sarcastically to the air. A slight shift in the temperature and wind current in the house answered her. She gave her eighty-third sigh.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right. Five hours before he normally gets ready for work is a little excessive…" Tekara muttered to herself. A small chattering noise made by a mixture of varying low and high pitched squeaks and clicks that an ordinary human couldn't hear sounded quietly by her right elbow.

"Oh, now let's not over-exaggerate," Tekara bit back in a defensive tone. "'Inadequate-Time-Deficient-Moron' is a little harsh, there!"

The chattering sounded again and Tekara stood up in a flurry, turning to point her finger at the seat she had until recently occupied. "Now leave my parents out of this. No, they were not 'freakin' Aardvarks!' Were the hell did you learn that term, anyways?"

The door suddenly clicked as the lock turned and Tekara was interrupted, looking towards it. The wooden fixture creaked open to reveal the redheaded owner and the raven-haired detective behind him. The oddly dressed, chair-accusing demon smiled.

"You're back!" she practically shouted. Kurama's eyebrow rose slightly at the sight of her standing, eagle spread and pointing at his living room chair accusingly.

"Oh, hey Tekara," Yusuke greeted as he slipped in past Kurama. "Arguing with chairs again?"

She huffed as she relaxed her stance and lowered her arm. Turning, she sat back down in the chair. "I was not arguing with chairs. How many times do I have to tell you, it was those damn imps?"

"Uh-huh," Yusuke replied disbelievingly but completely used to the weird things the demon girl claimed to see and hear. Kurama shared a small smile before walked down the short hall and into the kitchen. He appeared a second later as the kitchen ran into the living room, a counter and barstools separating the two but creating a nice breakfast and snack area.

The fox set down a bag of groceries that he and Yusuke had picked up on their way home, taking the separate things out of the bag and putting them away. He shot a look at Yusuke, waving a soda in his hand. The detective nodded and caught the can as it came flying through the cut out over the counter. Tekara caught the second one that came flying.

"So what are you doing here?" Yusuke asked Tekara as he sat down in one of the more snug couches that the fox had. "Or do you make random appearances in peoples home's quite often?"

Tekara rolled her eyes at the detective as she gave another huff. "No, I do not. I told Kurama that I would be checking on his wounds again, but I would do so on his own territory. No sense in making him come all the way back to the temple when I could just come here."

"Well, a lot of good that's going to do him now," Yusuke continued, voicing Kurama's exact thoughts as the fox finished the groceries and left the kitchen to change for work. Tekara gave him a confused glance and he explained, "Koenma's ordered him back to the temple. He doesn't want him where we can't protect him."

"Hmm," Tekara muttered almost under her breath. After a second, she raised the soda can to her lips, avoiding Yusuke's gaze. "Sounds like Koenma-sama is using him for bait."

Yusuke gave a tired sigh, rubbing the back of his neck. "That's what Kurama thinks too. And hell, I'm not even sure that he isn't, but I told Kurama that I wouldn't let anyone put him in danger, and I'm not going to break that promise.

Tekara glanced up at the man for several long seconds before she nodded. "Sounds honorable. I will be there, also, to keep anything from happening."

Yusuke frowned. "You're not going back to the Eastern Villages tomorrow?" he asked. Tekara normally spent her days in the Makai, working in the most eastern villages of the Takawabashi mountain range in southern Makai.

The girl shook her head. "No, Master Genkai has asked me if I would like to stay at the temple for the remainder of the year."

"That's great!" Yusuke replied as he almost choked on his soda. The old grandma had been living by herself for the last five years and often complained in her labyrinth of words about being lonely. "I'm glad you'll be here for a longer time."

Tekara only nodded as she heard another chirping. "Oh, hush you. You can go find another forest to haunt if you don't like it."

Yusuke gave her a strange _I-question-your-sanity_ look but said nothing. He was quite used to her off-hand and random comments to thin air. She claimed it had something to do with imps, or woodland and water sprites, or occasionally ghosts.

Of course, none of these things were ever visible, but that was simply because they were on another plane of existence so closely parallel to ours that they sometimes overlapped, and some could actually see them.

Or so the crazy demon said.

"Kurama?" Yusuke called into the back of the house. He didn't expect an answer so he simply continued, "Are you almost ready?"

The kitsune replied by coming out of his bedroom at the end of the hall. He had changed from his black kimono into something almost as fancy. Long black slacks that almost shined in a certain light adorned his long legs. He had on a pristine white dress shirt with collar and cuffs, the top part of his neck bandages just showing. Over that he had on a dark green- and black-splotched vest that showed off his slim shape.

His hair was still tied up in a high ponytail, but he had let a few more strands fall around his ears. Yusuke smirked at the kitsune, who seemed complete oblivious to how incredibly sexy he looked. But the detective had to keep that to himself, continuously repeating his wife's name over in his head.

Kurama would have smirked had he known, however.

Tekara stood up and practically skipped over to Kurama, looking oddly out of place with her strange kimono style top but faded blue jeans. "You look marvelous!"

Kurama nodded his head in thanks and waited for the request that he knew was coming. "Can I come this time? Ooooh, please can I come?"

Yusuke let out a laugh at the seven-year-old begging that was slowly wearing Kurama's abstinence down. Finally, the redhead just gave a sigh and nodded.

"Yay! I always wanted to see this famed bar you people never stop talking about!"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Hiei sat on the flat top of a local apartment building. The cold winter breeze blew his long hair around him, curling the silky strands over his shoulder and threatening to pull them out of the tight clasp he had at the base of his neck.

Deep, unreadable red eyes scanned the surrounding white grounds of Tokyo. Most of the snow had packed down some, leaving the grounds slick and the perfect place for kids to attempt sliding across the snow. Those red eyes narrowed some as one of the few doors leading into the building he sat on opened, and the sound of a happy female voice filtered up to him.

He watched with emotionally steeled eyes as three people exited the building and set off through the snow, each wrapped in something of a coat. Those crimson demonic eyes focused in on one particular figure, however.

The redhead was draped in a long, black coat that wrapped protectively around his lithe form. His hair blew all over the place in the random gusts of cold wind that swept up and threatened to undo his ponytail also.

Yusuke rolled his eyes and laughed as Kurama had a mini war with his own bangs as they refused to stay out of his mouth and forest green eyes. Tekara giggled as she slammed herself down in the snow, creating a small impact crater that loosened the snow enough for her to start making snow angels.

The other two walked around her on either side, the shorter of the two yelling at her to hurry up or get left behind. Hiei stood from his perch atop Kurama's apartment and took a single leap to the building beside it, keeping himself from slipping by digging his toe into the cold snow before pressing the rest of his foot down.

He continued to the next building as the three beneath him made their way in by slower means. Yusuke continued to hassle Kurama over his wind-blown and frozen hair. The fox only smirked and shook his head at his friend's antics.

Hiei watched from his higher position as the three made their way about a mile through town before they turned into a dark blue painted building after a small bit of ruckus. It had large, silver lined windows that lay across the front and a matching silver door. A large, similarly silver sign above read _"The Demon's Hangout"_

The fire demon frowned at such a name but shook it off, theorizing that the three companions would not have walked in to such a place had it been meant as a true demonic hangout merely poorly codenamed. With a soft growl, he settled himself on the roof and prepared for a long night of strain on his jagan.

A soft purple glow flooded the top of the roof as a single white bandana was taken to flight by the wind.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Kurama smiled as he watched Tekara make her third snow angel. Anyone who simply followed the trail of snow angels would come out of it with a laugh and a weird look when they found them ending outside a bar.

Kurama paused as his feelings shifted slightly.

Snow Angels.

…Snow. There was nothing angelic about it.

At the thought, a small frown creased the fox's beautiful face. A small part of him was still saying- no screaming – to stop acting so happy, to drop his endeavor to continue with normal life.

The voice always seemed to gather its strength and relentlessness when it snowed.

Indeed, the first days of snowfall five years back had nearly broken the fox's resolve to never cry, to never be so weak again.

And after five winters, the resolve had grown little stronger when annually weakened by every crystal snowflake. Kurama cast his eyes downward.

_Never again_.

Yusuke, who was throwing random snowballs at the demon girl at random times, glanced over to the fox. He paused slightly, his smile fading. Dodging a return snowball, he walked over to Kurama, who had been several feet away to avoid the occasional onslaught of ice.

"Hey," he said in a low whisper. Kurama, who was at first startled at the interruption of his thoughts, gave him a slight nod. "You sure you're okay with going to work tonight?"

The kitsune gave his friend an _Are-you-seriously-asking-me-this_ look and Yusuke just rolled his eyes. "Right, right, like you'd ever skip out on a night of bartending." However, Yusuke gently touched Kurama's arm, slowing him as the little angel-making demon skipped on ahead.

"But seriously. There are gonna be a lot of people there and all of them are going to be expecting the Kurama they know. The happy one," Yusuke reminded the fox and Kurama only nodded. He was prepared for that, and that was the sole reason he went.

It was the only time in the entire day, escalating to his entire life now, in which he really laughed or gave a true smile. Yusuke knew it, and was most likely protecting him from it. If Kurama wasn't going to be his actual happy self and instead pretend to be, everyone would know.

Kurama gave a reassuring nod to Yusuke, sharing a small smile with the detective as he continued on his way. And Yusuke left it at that. If Kurama said he was okay, then he was okay.

Tekara yipped as a snowball pinned her in the back and she spun, throwing one she had prepared when the others weren't watching. It pelted Yusuke right in the face. The main ball fell from his skin, revealing wide, brown eyes behind the ice.

"What was that for, huh?" he shouted out at her even as he bent down to scoop another up. "I didn't even hi-" Yusuke stopped his sentence and froze as suppressed chuckling sounded from his left. He turned, astonished, to look at Kurama.

"You!" he shouted accusingly. "Oh, you're going down, Fox-Boy!" with that, he scooped up the handful of snow and took off after Kurama, who sprinted a few feet ahead and then turned, ducking the second the ball was hurled at him.

Yusuke's eyes widened as Kurama ducked in front of the Hangout's front door. The snowball aced a young, but thickly built man coming out of the bar and he toppled over backwards at the sudden impact. Tekara's jaw dropped and she stared at Yusuke.

"Oh…you in big trouble!" she shouted before running in front of Kurama, hopping over the man and into the bar. Kurama could only hide his smirk as he lent a hand to the man now lying on the ground.

"Wha-what hit me?" he asked in a pretty clear voice for someone who had just left a tavern. Kurama gave a light smile as the man's clear brown eyes focused on him.

"K'rama?" he asked in a somewhat surprised voice. The fox smiled before the man threw an arm around his shoulder, shaking him back and forth. "K'rama, my number one man! How've you been?"

The fox tried to smile as he also tried to keep his head on his shoulders at the same time. The man finally slowed in his shaking him and he had time to give a nod. The man was beaming.

"Good, good! Well, there's no point leaving now!" the man spoke and Yusuke smirked at the British sounding accent in his Japanese. The man turned, dragging Kurama into the bar behind him and the raven-haired man followed.

"So this is where you work?" Tekara asked the minute the fox had entered the building. Kurama seemed about to respond when the man who still had an arm wrapped around his neck and shoulder in an almost headlock, squinted his eyes at the young demon.

"Eh? Is she old enough to be here?" he asked, looking to Kurama. The fox nodded, motioning to the girl. Yusuke stepped up beside him.

"She's actually twenty-two. She just looks about ten," he replied and Tekara gave another huff.

"I do not! I have it on strict authority that I look seventeen," she retorted in a somewhat bossy tone, defending her pride (which was practically nonexistence to human standards) and her honor (which no one is quite sure if she even knew the definition of the word – at least the fighters definition)

"But, I have to be getting back to work," she suddenly said, completely sober and no longer childish at all. Her face seemed to age to look about seventeen, as she had claimed. The man holding Kurama blinked slightly before shaking his head, muttering about one too many drinks.

Yusuke smirked. "We'll see you back at Genkai's, right?"

Tekara flashed her ten-year-old smile once more before walking out the door she had just come in. Yusuke shook his head, a small headache forming from trying to keep up with her weird and randomly schizophrenic moments.

Not for the first time, Yusuke wondered if she really was of two mentally unstable minds.

But he didn't have any more time for contemplation as another voice broke through his thoughts. A man at the bar was looking pointedly at the other man holding Kurama. "Kigane?" he questioned. "I thought you were leaving."

Kigane, the one holding the fox's head hostage, gave a smirk. "I was, but guess who I found?"

He turned slightly to show off the redhead who was now trying to pull his head out of the sturdy built arm that had him. The others at the bar took maybe a second before they all shouted in chorus, "Kurama!"

He stopped his minute struggles to wave at them before continuing to get out of the head-grip. Another well-built gentlemen, much like Kigane, lifted his beer towards the two. "Ah, come on, Kigane. Let him go so he can come have some fun."

Kigane gave a toothy grin and released the fox, who caught himself before he fell and stood up. Rolling his eyes, he followed the man as Kigane took one of the empty seats by the bar. Kurama went for the entrance to the back of the bar.

The Demon's Hangout was built in the shape of a long, irregular pentagon. Most of the place that you could see was a large, slightly rectangular building that extended farther back then in it's width. The far back wall, however, stopped halfway and was angled in to create a fifth wall that was a good one hundred and thirty degree angle connection to the other two walls.

The bar extended from the front wall all the way through to the back wall, traveling the length of the restaurant and meeting up with the angle in the wall. All in all, the counter was a good twenty or thirty feet long and lined all the way with wine, liquor, ale, and alcohol. Above the bar hung glasses, hundreds of them of all shapes and sizes. Silver and wood bar chairs lined the length, fitting as many as possible for the crowd that was sure to come during the rest of the night.

The rest of the restaurant was smaller, wooden tables and chairs in the middle, separated from the bar by an iron fence for both decoration and use. Several different plants of odds and ends hung off them, creating an Italian look to the restaurant. High chairs and stools lined the free walls, facing a few hanging televisions and the one large fireplace on the angled wall.

With the quiet but hard rock music playing in the background, it was all in all an extremely fun place with a great attitude about it.

Kurama walked towards the front portion of the bar and slid into the back of it, joining the second bartender who was already present. The man had short-cropped hair that was almost pitch black. His eyes were small but wide almond shaped crystals of the purest blue and fit perfectly against his fair skin. The same outfit as Kurama wore adorned his thin form. He was one to get everyone to ask their companions on his gender.

He as almost as pretty as Kurama, only most people who met the fox simply assumed he was a girl. With Aoshi people at least questioned.

The younger boy smiled. "Hey, how are you today, Shuichi?"

The fox smiled and made gave a slight shrug even as he drew a glass from the hanging racks above.

Aoshi smiled. "Good, good."

Kurama didn't have time to respond as Kigane ordered up another glass of ale, since he was seemingly staying. Out of the corner of his eye as the fox began pouring a tankard from the tap, he watched Yusuke settle down in the closest seat to the door, almost tucking himself away from the others.

Nodding at something that Kigane had already started telling him and several other stories that the other guys were trying to tell him at the same time, Kurama handed the beer off to the man and drew another mug from above him.

Before he could poor another glass, however, the bell above the door jingled and a couple walked in. Kurama looked up at them and immediately realized that they had no idea where they were. Their clothing was a bit too fancy for such a place, even though it was a pretty classy bar.

The man leaned over to whisper to his companion, presumably his girlfriend. Kurama's quick ears picked up on their conversation, and he set down the glass he had been about to fill. "Maybe we shouldn't eat here…look, it's just a bar."

The woman shook her head. "We've already walked in, we can't just leave. Come on, we'll just have a drink and then find another place."

Seeing that the hostess was not at the post at the moment and instead seating another couple, the two began to make their way past the bar, heading for a table near the back of the restaurant. Kurama smiled and leaned forward, tapping two gentlemen, one being Kigane, on the shoulder.

"Eh?" Kigane asked somewhat intelligently and then smirked as he got the message Kurama was making with his waving hand and leaned to the side. The other man followed suit as Kurama hopped up on the bar, sliding his legs over and jumping down on the other side.

The couple seemed somewhat surprised as the man jumped down just in front of them, stepping into the isle between the bar and iron gate that they were walking down. He bowed, his red hair slipping over his shoulder as he motioned to an empty seat directly in front of where he'd been serving.

Kigane, who realized that he had one empty seat on one side of him and another empty seat two stools down, stood up, gave the couple a tip of his glass, and moved down to the seat. He winked at Kurama, who nodded his thanks.

Although the couple seemed somewhat surprised and ready to cut in, Aoshi spoke up a few feet away and behind the bar. "He insists that you join us!"

The woman seemed somewhat embarrassed and the man frowned as he replied, "Why can't he say that himself?"

Half the faces at the bar took on a rather hostile look, daring the man to say any more. Kurama merely smiled at them but Aoshi gave a nod his way, a deadly serious look on his face that told much of what would happen were the man to continue with his rudeness.

"He can't, he's mute."

The man looked at the redhead, blushing bright red in embarrassment. He made a very quick bow as he mumbled several apologies. Kurama only smiled and shook his head, hopping back over the bar before the couple sat down behind him.

Turning to face the couple, he preformed several gestures with his hands. The two looked over to Aoshi, who was busy wiping a glass. The woman smiled at Kurama before asking, "What did he say?"

"What? Oh, he says his name is Shuichi-" a rather loud and somewhat indistinguishable snort came from somewhere near Kigane and Aoshi quickly added, "-but everyone here calls him Kurama. And he wants to know what drinks you'll be having."

Kurama soon after elbowed the man. Several men at the bar laughed as Aoshi rolled his eyes. "My apologies. He says his name is Shuichi and he's _asking_ you what he can get you. Very politely it would seem."

The last line was growled at Kurama, who only smirked with a shrug before turning back to the couple. The woman gave him a very wide smile before ordering a red wine and the man took a German beer. Kurama nodded and had both of them served within the minute.

Turning back to his earlier task, he picked up the glass he had abandoned to hop the bar and placed it under the Sapporo tap. Letting it fill three quarters of the way full, watching several more bar regulars walk in the door (half of them hollering at the redhead) he took the mug away from the tap.

Raising a hand, he slapped it palm-down on the counter two times. Everyone lifted their drinks off the table, the ones who were not regulars quickly following suit when they figured out it was what they were supposed to do. Kurama gave a loud whistle as he expertly pushed the beer down the shined mahogany counter, not even watching it slide down the entire length without tipping to be caught by Yusuke, who had not been forgotten by the kitsune.

"Thanks, Kurama," Yusuke answered as he took a long sip of the beer. The man that had come in with the woman, who was his wife as everyone was soon finding out from the many questions they were receiving, looked over at Yusuke as his spouse continued an explanation to their neighbor about their marriage.

"Who's he, and isn't he going to pay?" the man asked and Kigane smirked, glancing down the table at the raven-haired man sipping his beer.

"You're awfully nosy, dontcha know?" he replied without answering and the man blushed somewhere between embarrassment and anger. Kigane only laughed. "Nah, we've got nothing to hide here! Everyone knows everyone else in this place!"

Before the man could spend the next half hour blabbering about everything and everyone he knew, Kurama took up the job of answering. Once again, after all his gestures, the man turned to Aoshi to translate as he was right beside the kitsune, serving up a Nutcracker for another customer.

However, the answer came from the subject of the question himself, as Yusuke had been listening. The hanyou stood, carrying his beer over to them as two other bar goers happily scooted down one to make room for him. "He said that I'm his boyfriend so I get drinks on the house."

Kurama snorted before making the detective have to duck as he swung his hand lazily at Yusuke's head. The others at the bar, including Yusuke, laughed as the man managed to duck but received the "look" from Kurama.

"You wish, Urameshi," Aoshi put in, hitting the counter before sliding the Nutcracker down some ways, also expertly not spilling the liquid. Yusuke grinned.

"What? Wish to be Kurama's lover?" he looked the redhead up and down. "Well who the hell doesn't?"

The redhead promptly blushed at this as the married couple's gaze turned towards him. He took another swing at Yusuke who leaned back, laughing.

"Just look at him; he's frankly just about as beautiful as your average woman," Yusuke continued as Kurama turned a bit redder. "He's the kindest, most loving person I've ever had the pleasure of being friends with. So sure, why the hell not? Although…I think my wife might have something to say about it."

The bar erupted in laughter and Kigane waved his half empty mug at Yusuke. "Yare, yare, and say it with a butcher knife, right?"

Yusuke laughed, nodding as he took another sip of his drink. As the laughter died down, however, he looked back at Kurama. "But come one. Who seriously wouldn't want Kurama's love?"

There was a short silence as Kurama broke into a smile, still blushing. With a glint of mischief in his eye, he leaned over the bar and kissed Yusuke on the cheek.

The entire bar erupted in six-year-old banters of "oooooh!" before everyone cracked up, including the wife and husband, who were seemingly warming up to the place and its people. Yusuke winked at Kurama, who could only roll his eyes before returning to fetching another drink.

Yusuke was well into his third round before the real reason for tagging along with the redhead (other than protection, his boss's orders, and a good free drink, which all came in second) showed up, coming out to greet the growing crowd of people as the bar was almost full and the restaurant itself was more than half. He came from the back, which was hidden by the bar but contained the kitchen and lively cooks.

The detective was busy taunting Aoshi for looking so girly as the man had already sprayed him (and several other's beside him) with the water tap.

"Urameshi, are you causing trouble for my bartenders already?" The man turned to see a tall, spiky haired blonde walking over to him, wearing a black jacket that didn't reach all the way down to cover the red shirt he wore, which fell down to his thighs and over his faded jeans. Yusuke grinned.

"Hey, Kido!" he shouted as he stood from the bar. "And what's my favorite shadow-stepping bar manager up to these days?"

"Avoiding shadow-stepping," the man answered as Yusuke led him away from the bar and over closer to the hostess podium. Asato Kido, his one-time rivalry turned ally during the beginning of his dealings with Sensui, was a bit taller, a bit more mature, but none the different.

"You don't usually come with Kurama, too often," Asato began as he glanced at the redhead, who was looking at them, but still managing to serve drinks. "What's up?"

Yusuke lowered his voice and turned immediately sober. "Hiei showed up yeserday."

Asato's eyes widened. "What? Does Kurama know? Did Hiei do anything to him? Is everything alright?"

"Shh," Yusuke hissed as Kido's quickly raising voice. "You're not supposed to know about it, remember? If Kurama knew I told you he'd be furious!"

Asato nodded and glanced quickly at Kurama. "What happened?"

"Nothing so far, but there's more." When Kido raised his eyebrows, the detective continued, "That assassin, the one who maimed Kurama…we think he's back."

Yusuke was about to cover Asato's mouth he was so worried that the man before him would start shouting and rampaging. But, luckily, Kido got himself under control just before he did. "Has he tried to attack Kurama?"

Yusuke shook his head, but his gaze drew to the floor. "No but…Kuwabara was his first target." Kido understood the implied meaning in those words and he grew quiet. Yusuke wasn't sure if the restaurant owner knew what to say, so he continued instead, "Just don't mention it to Kurama. Neither of them seem willing to talk about it, so I have a bad feeling.

"Plus, with Hiei around, Kurama's been sort of on edge," Yusuke said. "Koenma wants him to remain at the temple until we catch the bastard who's doing this. He won't be here for the rest of the week."

Asato only nodded. "It's alright, I'll get someone to cover him. Don't worry; plus I'll keep up his pay."

Yusuke shook his head. "Don't worry about that, Koenma's going to cover him. I just needed to let you know. And by the way," Yusuke added on, "Hiei is sitting up on the roof."

Kido's eyes opened wide and he started to look up when Yusuke hissed at him not to. Asato just shook his head. "Does Kurama know?"

"No, he can't feel his energy, not that he's not hiding it," Yusuke replied. "Because of the damn ward on his neck, Kurama can't use his demonic energy anymore than a child could. He's pretty defenseless."

Asato nodded.

Kurama watched with suspicious eyes as Yusuke talked to his blonde boss and friend. It was obvious they were talking about him, otherwise they wouldn't have moved away. However, Asato didn't look so happy about whatever news he was receiving, and the fox had a feeling that Yusuke was telling him about the assassin.

The kitsune finished pouring the Pina Colada, enjoying some of the more tropical and western drinks they served, and added several sword-pinned fruits to the drink. As he glanced down at the plastic sword he was piercing through the cherry and orange, his hand started to shake slightly. The pain of old wounds that never healed struck through his chest and he closed his eyes, pressing his hand to the scar over his chest cavity.

Memory of the pain of that sword cutting straight through his ribs, passing between lung and intestine, shot across his eyelids and both hands began to shake.

Images of fresh, falling snow followed soon after. Red-patterned snow.

"Hey, you okay?" Kurama's eyes opened as Aoshi laid a hand on his shoulder. The fox let out a heavy breath before he nodded. Quickly, eyes never leaving that plastic sword, he handed the drink to the woman with a small smile.

As he continued the rest of the night, laughing at the jokes made and the innuendoes and smiles, Kurama continued to play the memory of that sword piercing his gut, his own crimson blood on the snow, over and over in his head, determined to stop the images from plaguing him.

Never again would he cry with the winter snow.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Bum Bum Bum!

Oooh, I just love that last line! And I'm not even sure why! Probably for the same reason that I love the line:

_Snow Angels. …Snow. There's nothing angelic about it._ But maybe I'm just weird. Actually, that's kind of already proven, as I happen to be a Snow Baby, and love the stuff. Yet here I am writing a story about how my two favorite characters can't stand it… O.O

Sooo, how was it? Hmm, that bad? Aw, dang! Oh well, better luck next time! Oh, and please do read the authors notes, or at least skim. You get some info you might want, like the clarification on why Kurama only talks to Kuwabara, although the story has hinted at it enough that it should be partially known in the least.

Plus some more little contest guessing games.

**Author's Notes**:

…_I **won't** let you get hurt, Kurama…_ Alright, a big cyber cookie to anyone who can explain **that** one to me: Why did Yusuke say it and why did Kurama react like he did?

…"_What would you know of hurt?" The scream was accompanied by so much anger and fear…_ Now, if you pay close attention, the word "Spoke" or anything pertaining to something that could not be mentally addressed, is never used…or at least I don't think it is.

See, Kurama got so angry at Yusuke's words, that the emotion was enough to allow someone like himself, who isn't truly psychic, to communicate telepathically. That's why no one guessed the huge hint when he talked to Kuwabara.

I never said anything about Kurama speaking. Kuwabara was the only one Kurama talked to because Kuwabara was the only one who could HEAR the fox! See, I have some reasoning behind the madness.

Not a lot, mind you, but some.

…_No, they were not 'freakin' Aardvarks!'…_ Does anyone know where that comes from? It's really quite funny. The whole line is "Whatsa – Fragga…You're mother is a freakin' aardvark!" or something close to it. Let me know if anyone has ever heard this; I'll give you a cyber cookie! (but seriously, people, I want to know how many people caught this in the movie it's in. It's not hidden, but it doesn't just blare out across the screen either)

…_eastern villages of the Takawabashi mountain range in southern Makai… _Anyone who is reading _The Last One Left_ should recognize that direct reference! (and if not: hello, does my story go out of your head that quickly? Damn…gotta write better O.O ….Anyways, the Takawabashi mountain line is 1) where Akuzuki lives and 2) the same mountain range the artifact came from)

…_often complained in her labyrinth of words about being lonely…_ You know, Genkai never speaks what she means. Writers often have Yusuke or Kurama translate what she's really say, much like they do Hiei, too. (Such as, Koenma: "She told me to tell you to go win the tournament and leave her to her peace" (or something like that) Translation: Don't die. You know, stuff like that)

…_another plane of existence so closely parallel to ours that they sometimes overlapped… _This is a very fun theory to mess around with and I use it often. Now, Tekara is just a very weird and random demon who no one is quite sure if she really is a Schiz, or if she's just…special that way.

…_like you'd ever skip out on a night of bartending…_ Yep, that's right, I made him a bartender! Personally, I can see Kurama as a very good bartender. I know bartenders talk a lot, but I still think he'd make a great one!

Besides, I've read stories where he became a bartender and an alcoholic after Hiei rejects him and stuff, but I didn't go that far. And then there's always the Stripper job people give him.

Yeah…wasn't going to mess with that one.

…_He can't, he's mute_…Yep! That's it! For any of you who guessed it, which none of you seemed to from the reviews, but might have during this chapter; Kurama is MUTE. His vocal cords (or larynx, which is in the front of your throat at the top of your trachea (if you run your fingers up your throat, it rests atop the ring like bumps of the trachea...uh...can't explain it all that well)) were cut by whatever made the wound at his neck that was mentioned in the...second chapter, I believe?

Sorry all you freakish fans, but that's the way it is!

--ducks from random frying pans and swords and knives- Hey! Alright, who threw the hammer? That **hurt**, you know!

…_his name is Shuichi…but everyone here calls him Kurama…_ I just did that because One: I had this neat idea that the employees all go by famous demon names but I never incorporated it, and two that Kido and Yusuke already call him that and I'm sure half the people in the bar would have caught on. People, when you get a big group that knows everyone like that, often catch on and that's when you get the best times and the best nicknames.

…_What? Wish to be Kurama's lover…_ Again, just the joking that I think Yusuke would honestly do. I see him as bi, and that's just how it is. I'm not one to see every character as gay, but I happen to think that Kurama and Hiei fit perfectly, and Yusuke is bi and Koenma occasionally. Just how I see it. Here, though, he's mostly joking.

…_Who seriously wouldn't want Kurama's love…_ This, if anyone caught on, was Yusuke actually reassuring and comforting the fox. After what Hiei did (which you still don't really get to know) Kurama would probably have felt a lot lower about himself. If I had written the past five years of what had happen, these comments would most likely be all over the place from Yusuke.

I just see him as someone who could comfort anyone when they really needed it.

…_Asato Kido, his one-time rivalry turned ally during the beginning of his dealings with Sensui… _I'm sure there's someone out there who remembers him. During the Sensui Arc, the first few episodes (the Terrible Truths bit) had him, Yuu Kaito, and Mistunari Yanasigawa (don't feel bad, I had to look that name up too) as the three who countered Yusuke after school that one time. Asato is the one with the Shadow-Stepping powers, hence the reference Yusuke made. I hoped that would help identify him some.

However, I must apologize for his out of character-ness. I was going on three excuses (as that is what they are) : First, you don't ever get much of his personality to go on to begin with; Second, I'm assuming that he matured to an adult in this story; and Third, he has become good friends with both Yusuke and Kurama and care about them now.

Plus, I needed someone who knew about demons, but I didn't feel like an OC would inspire the audience (I frankly don't like them all that much. Tekara is an exception because she's a blast to write)

The only one anyone ever seems to remember, however, is Yuu Kaito. But…I just can't see _him_ running a bar…Can you?

…_You're not supposed to know about it… _This was because Kurama didn't want every Tom, Dick, and Sally (are those even the right names? And who were Dick, Tom and Sally? I really must pause to wonder. O.O ) to know about what Hiei did to him (which no one guessed but did get close to) So Kido knows, but isn't supposed to. However, he and Kurama grew close after working together for five years, so he cares greatly for the fox, and that's why Yusuke told him.

…_the damn ward on his neck…_ That's right! It's starting to unfold! You were all correct: it is a ward. However, no one was correct as to **why it is there**! But, then again, the twist may not be all that easy and if you don't get the twist, you won't get the ward.

But never fear! All will be revealed…Eventually! (actually, almost everything but the twist comes out next chapter, but you didn't hear that from me!)

Kit: (Yeah, they heard it from your evil twin, right?)

(that's right!)

Shadow: (Um…why are we talking in parenthesis?)

(O.O you know...I don't know.)

…_Memory of the pain of that sword cutting straight through his ribs, passing between lung and intestine…_ Ha, even more unfolded! Although, that really wasn't much, as I kinda already mentioned that wound somewhere in the beginning.

Dang, fourteen author's notes! Why the hell didn't I just write the damn story better! 8D Oh, and I know it's harsh making Kurama mute, but I thought it was a pretty unexplored area, as I have never seen any of the Yu Yu members go mute.

I have seen them blind, but never mute.

Well, I hope you all enjoyed and are looking forward to the next chapter.

Prepare for a longwinded talk but INFORMATION! Lots and lots of it…I think…cause…you know…these things hardly ever turn out like planned.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer**: Boy, what complete lack of ownership and broke-ness should I confess to this time?

8D Complete dislcaimer is available in the first chapter...I think it is...no, I hope it is...

**Review Responses**: YOU ALL ROCK! ...okay, now that that's out of my system, I would like to thank all of you for reviewing and reading this story. Frankly, this is one of my favorite stories to write. So you all ROCK!

...I thought that was out of my system...

**Kurana108**: **8**D Thanks, I like to write stories that challenge the reader to pay attention and figure the clues and hints out on their own. It's...fun in my book. Anyways, did your re-read help? I hope it did, because Tekara is not the killer. I like more twist than that.

Unfortunately, the twist is something WAY out of the box and you REALLY have to go wild to guess it...and yet, it makes perfect sense in the end and half of you will be kicking yourselves in the butt when you hear what the real story is!

Weeeeeee, I love masochism! ...uh...did I really just write that?

**KittyLuv**: Ahh, I don't want you to starve? Want a cyber popsicle? Thanks for reviewing, I'm glad you like the story.

**Evene**: Aw, you dummy! You shouldn't read at one in the morning! You might miss stuff and you're too tired to guess...I'm such a hypocrite. Sorry, I really am. But I'm so glad that you read and enjoyed the chapter. Please forgive any past and future grammatical mistakes, I proof my own work and miss some quite often. Please except my apologies for such.

Thanks for reviewing and reading!

**KyoHana**: Oh, I'm glad you like the last line also! I just...don't know why I like it...Anyways, I'm so glad you like the story. When I have to get out a dictionary to understand your review, I know you liked it...I think...right? Just joking, you write very formal, happily-received reviews that I thank you profoundly for. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

And don't be so sure everything will be resolved. I don't often deal in Happy Endings. –Evil smile-

**Berbec**: Ahh, but guessing is just so much fun! Nah, I hope the ending surprises you. Enjoy! (Although...the ending is a ways off)

**Notes**: I must ask pardon for any following mistakes or misunderstandings made about the abilities of one who is mute. I mean no offense and am only trying to write fanfiction. If anyone is or knows one who is mute and can offer any help on such a mistake, please contact me through a review or at

Kitsune Lover 12 Yahoo . com (ignore all spaces; FanFiction . net won't allow it any other way)

Unfortunately I do not know anyone who is mute. I do have two deaf friends and so I can learn sign language from them (however I figured it was less confusing if I do not specify on any movements: even just describing the alphabet would be annoying and perplexing... However, I do perform a mean recitation of "Rubber Ducky" in sign language ... 8D )

Secondly, the name of the OC is supposed to be Tekara. I had a serious Spelling-And-Memory-Issue problem in the first chapter (not afraid to admit it) as I traded around four or five different names for the damn character (and yes, she should be dammed, stupid character caused me a lot of problems!) Please forgive the spelling error. I will attempt to fix it when I can.

-o-o-o-o-o-

_**Embrace the Winter Snow**_

**Chapter 5**

-o-o-o-o-o-

"And 'den...And 'den I don' gon' tol' him to back off, yer know? I tol' 'im, "Ya'l jus'...jus'...leave!'" Kigane tipped into Kurama, who was trying earnestly not to show his silent laughter as the man stumbled, tipped, and swayed on his supported walk to the taxi.

Kurama smiled slightly as Kigane hiccupped and tried again to retell his mighty speech to whatever foe he was ranting on about now. The fox shouldered the heavily built man as he shifted Kigane so that he could open the cab door.

"Hey, K'rama," the taxi cap driver said with a knowing smile and Kurama helped his thoroughly drunk friend climb/fall into the cab. The fox flashed a smile as he gave a light, teasing roll of his eyes.

Kigane was still trying to recap the adventurous tale.

Kurama made a motion with his hands and Yusuke, who was standing off to the side, watched as the fox extended his never-ending kindness through the gestures. _'Can you get him home safely, Ryo? His wife will probably be awake.' _

The cab driver smirked and nodded, helping Kigane sit up straight and get a buckle on him. As Kurama gave his thanks, he stood up and shut the door to the car. He watched with smiling eyes as the cab pulled away from the pub and turned onto the near empty streets.

"Hey," Yusuke said, coming up behind him. "You're a good guy, Kurama."

The fox turned to him with a surprised, raised eyebrow. He gave a smirk before nodding thankfully. The two detectives turned, their conversation at an end for the moment as the married couple made their way out of the bar, laughing with Asato Kido, who turned and locked the door behind him.

Spotting Kurama, the two made their way over to him, treading through the lightly falling snow. "K'rama!" the man practically shouted as he slapped the fox on the back. "I was wrong about you...and this whole place for that matter!"

The wife rolled her eyes at her husband, who was much more sober than Kigane, but still treading the edge of being trunk. She smiled and bowed to the fox. "We truly enjoyed your company, Kurama-san. Thanks to you and your friends, we've had some of the best laughs in five years. Can I trust that we'll see you here tomorrow?"

At this, however, Kurama's smile dropped slightly. With an almost sad and longing look, he glanced over at Yusuke, who took up the job of answering. "Unfortunately, Kurama is taking a week of vacation," the man answered as he glanced back at the youko. With a small smile, he turned back to the couple, "But he'll definitely be back by next week, and I'm sure we'll see you then."

The couple, though seemingly disappointed, smiled and bowed most profoundly to the two before making their way down the street, still laughing and recalling half the jokes told at the bar that night.

Yusuke turned to Kurama, who was watching them go with a sorrowful expression on his face. The ex-tentai sighed and looked down at the ground before Asato came up beside them. The raven-haired man looked up as Kido handed Kurama a white envelope.

"Urameshi says you won't be here for the remainder of the week," Asato began as Kurama accepted his paycheck with an almost heavy hand. He only nodded and Kido smiled, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, I know when something's wrong, Kurama. You take as much time as you need for it."

Yusuke gave Kido an approving nod as Kurama presented his boss and friend with a thankful smile, though his eyes still seemed rather sad. Asato wished them a good night and happy travel, and the two began to make their way back to the fox's apartment, where Yusuke had left his car much earlier.

Kurama stopped not even two steps later and looked suddenly to the roof of a neighboring building. Yusuke frowned and traced Kurama's gaze but saw nothing, only the dim shadows of the air conditioning units and other bulky machinery on the roof.

He gave Kurama a questioning glace but the redhead only answered with a quick, sharp movement of his hand. Yusuke frowned.

"No...I don't sense anyone, Kurama," the man lied; although he sounded very convincing for one who could never lie well in his teen years. Kurama gave him a short, suspicious look before he turned and continued on his way. Yusuke almost growled as he caught up with the fox, who seemed content on ignoring him.

"Kurama, I'm here to help you; to protect you. I won't let whoever is after you hurt you, I already promised you that."

The fox paused slightly, before he looked at Yusuke with his eyes back to their sorrowful green selves. He turned without giving a reply.

_'It's not really me that I am worried about, Yusuke...Indeed, I gave up that luxury long ago.'_

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Yusuke sighed, aggravated more with himself than the fox that sat beside him in the car. He knew that, for some reason, Kurama could never hold back his sorrow when it snowed. And when the sun went down, when darkness settled across the city, Yusuke knew that it was always the worst then.

Kurama was mildly staring out the window, absently humming a very quiet tune that Yusuke did not recognize. He had feared that the fox would never recover, not when they had found him lying in a puddle of his own blood, clinging to life by a single, breaking thread.

Surprisingly, the fox reacted differently than Yusuke had first predicted. The first few days were nothing but silence. Well, obviously there had to be since the bastard had all but torn out Kurama's larynx. But Kurama didn't move, he didn't eat, he did nothing more than stare out the window at the slowly falling snow.

It had been one of the greatest snow counts the city of Tokyo had ever seen. Snow had coated the ground even in the most downtown areas of Tokyo, filtering through the city and leaving the mountains and Genkai's temple snowed in.

And Kurama had been sharing the rare occasion with Yukina, who was ecstatic at the falling crystals. No doubt that she had been celebrating with her people's traditional dances and rituals. Kurama, of course, had originally been at the temple to meet Hiei, who was to return from his three-month long endeavor in the Makai the next morning.

But something had obviously gone wrong.

Yusuke bit his lip to stop from crying tears that had been longing to get out for years. With a quick, determined thought, he set the salty water back from his eyes, blinking to avoid the tears.

Where had it all gone so fucking wrong?

The teen jumped slightly as Kurama lightly touched his shoulder. Yusuke turned, his eyes watery and stingy from the result of an endless battle to hold the salty water back. Kurama was frowning slightly, seemingly confused.

Yusuke pulled over to the side of the freeway as Kurama made yet another set of movements with his hands. The teen let out a laugh as his mind immediately picked up the motions and replaced them with their meanings.

"Yeah...I know, I know: holdin' back tears is your job, Kurama," the teen said, his smile genuine if not a tad sad. "Sorry. Just lost in memories."

Kurama raised and eyebrow and Yusuke laughed, pulling back onto the road and quickly gaining speed to match the practically nonexistent traffic.

It was one thirty in the morning, after all.

The car pulled off the highway and onto a long, winding dirt road after several more miles. The road stretched far into the mountains and Yusuke turned his headlights on, as no streetlights were available to light the way.

It was another half hour down the winding, bumpy road before Yusuke finally pulled over. They were in a valley created by two high ridges rising on either side of them in slow, steeping hills. Yusuke knew from experience that over the hill to their right was the highway and bus stop that he had often taken in his younger years.

"Come on, Fox-boy," Yusuke called as he shut the trunk, two heavy gym bags slung over his shoulder. "We have a freakin' long set of stairs to climb."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Kurama was anything but tired as Yusuke ordered his immediate retirement to his futon. The fox sighed, giving a rather rude but playful reply that deemed Yusuke as his motherly figure. The detective had only laughed as the fox left the kitchen.

As the fox climbed quietly under the covers of his bed, the soft rustle of sheets and comforters the only sound in the room, he glanced outside at the falling snow. The window sat a perfect location in the wall for Kurama to watch through it from his laid position. It let through nothing of the outside cold or the snow, despite the fact that the window was thrown open, the Japanese paper covering slid aside.

Kurama frowned slightly but shrugged it off, figuring it was the new wards. Koenma had muttered something about a kekkai laid about the inner workings of the wood in the temple, but he hadn't truly been listening.

But now he wished that he could close that window some. He did no want to see the winter's new snow.

But he forced himself to stare at it.

His own voice lost to everything else, his own vow rang in his head as he continuously looked upon the falling crystals.

_Never again._

The fox's thoughts were interrupted, however, as Yusuke slipped into the room, a teacup in his hands. He handed the oriental style cup to the redhead lying on the futon, who he sat up to drink the tea.

Yusuke glanced quickly at the window, the movement missed by the fox, who was gently sipping at the steaming liquid. Kurama looked up with a sudden, lazy smile.

The latter did not return the gesture. "Genkai laced your tea with a sleeping potion. We both know that you're not sleeping during the week, Fox."

Kurama nodded, his eyes slightly drooping. In truth, somewhere deep within his rapidly clouding mind, he was a tad bit angry at the secrecy, but had been expecting as much. Had he not longed for sleep, the painless darkness to take him and give his mind some overdue rest, he would have fought harder to make the point clear that he did not need to be slipped a sleeping pill and would have taken it willingly.

Besides, he knew that the others wouldn't have the energy needed to put him to sleep like their weekend healings did.

The fox took another sip with a look that was borderline eager. Yusuke wasn't sure if he was happy the kitsune wasn't mad, or worried that he was so anxious to sleep. With a shrug he supposed the first was a better thing to feel.

He had never had insomnia before, but he was sure that it might drive anyone to take pills for such.

Kurama gave a lazy, happy smile as he finished the drink and handed it back to Yusuke with an almost child-like innocence. He lay down and pulled the covers up to his chin, snuggling back as a young kit might against his mother's soft fur.

Yusuke sat down on the edge of the bed, watching Kurama carefully. He realized that he should have talked to Kurama _before_ lacing his tea with something that would knock him out. He'd kick himself for the idiotic mistake later. "Alright, I need you to listen for just a minute, Fox-boy, and then you can sleep all you want." The fox looked up at him with tired but clear, green eyes.

"First, the wards in the room permit only four people to enter or exit: Tekara, Genkai, you, and myself. No other can enter without a serious struggle that each and every one of us will feel. So you're safe." The detective watched as Kurama nodded his understanding, eyelids drooping.

"Second, Hiei is in the woods, Kurama," Yusuke said, but the kitsune only nodded, too tired to really care. He looked up through half lidded eyes and gave a weak set of gestures. Yusuke gave a gentle smile.

"Yes, I'll wait with you until you fall asleep, Kurama. Genkai will be awake for the rest of the night if you need something, and I'll be next door if you need me," he whispered as Kurama gave a thankful, relieved sigh, his head tilting against the pillow.

Yusuke bent down and kissed the fox's forehead. "Go to sleep, Kurama."

The youko only gave a half-awake nod as he drifted quietly but smoothly off into the land of dreams. Yusuke watched for several moments as Kurama's breathing became regular and slow, like the steady beat of a drum.

With a sigh, his eyes became serious, all emotion steeled as he back away from the kitsune, climbing off the bed. He looked over to the window.

"You can stop hiding, Hiei," he spoke clearly, but not loud enough to wake the sleeping fox, who had curled on his side and tucked in on himself. "Meet me at the temple stairs. We need to talk."

Hiei sat in the soft, planted dirt beneath the window, staring out into the woods as Yusuke spoke. With an uncertain glance, he strengthened his resolve and determination to find out what was going on. He jumped to the side and emitted a quick burst of speed, arriving at the last stone step that led to Genkai's temple seconds later.

Yusuke took a much longer time, his footsteps slow as he made his way out of Genkai's temple (warning the priestess where he was going) and across the frozen courtyard. As he arrived beside the fire demon, he gave him neither recognition nor time to speak as he simply started down the steps.

Hiei growled slightly but followed.

"Where are we going, detective?" he asked after they had descended the several hundred stairs and had started in the direction of Yusuke's car.

"Far away from Kurama," Yusuke answered vaguely as he opened the driver's door and slid into the small machine. Hiei paused for a moment, weighing his dislike for ningen automobiles against his desire to gain information.

The information finally won out and he opened the door to climb into the passenger's side.

The drive was long, lasting for more than forty-five minutes and Hiei realized that Yusuke was taking him farther than he thought needed. The fire demon rolled his eyes.

"I'm not here to hurt him, Detective. Unless you'd like to drive all the way to the Makai, I don't think any of this is necessary," he reprimanded rather harshly and Yusuke slammed down on the car's brakes, sending the machine flying in a ninety-degree turn into a rest stop. It stood ominously before the dark trees that lined either side of the highway they were now on.

As the car came to rest rather unsettlingly in a parking place, the teen opened the door, climbed out of the car, and all but slammed it closed again. Hiei watched with curious, calculating eyes as he followed the motions step for step, ignoring the last one and gently closing his own door.

He followed the detective as Yusuke passed the small building that housed a restroom and convenience store. It didn't seem to be open anyhow.

Yusuke trekked into the woods, stepping over log and leaf as he made his way farther and farther into the dark woods, using his energy-lit finger to guide his way. Hiei followed quietly, not sure whether to be angry or amused at such an attempt to keep him away from Kurama.

Finally, Yusuke stopped and settled for a small, cramped clearing created by a fallen tree that had set a few feet of forest clear in the direction that it had fallen. Yusuke seemed to have calm slightly on his rampage through the woods and now heaved himself up onto the massive tree.

"Sit," he commanded to the fire demon, who seemed less happy at hiking through the woods at three o'clock in the morning only to be ordered by some half demon bastard.

But, begrudgingly, he leapt up and sat down next to Yusuke.

"So what do you want to know?" Yusuke immediately asked and Hiei glared at him with a calculating eye.

"What makes you think I want to know anything?" he asked in a cold, rude tone. Yusuke shrugged but the fire demon wasn't finished yet. "You called me out here, remember? Something about 'needing to talk'?"

Yusuke regarded the fire demon with cool, tranquil eyes. "Why are you here, Hiei?"

"Because you dragge-" Hiei stopped his answer halfway through as Yusuke's eyes narrowed. The fire demon smirked. "You should know, Mukuro sent the letter to you."

"Yeah, she said you needed an attitude adjustment," Yusuke summed up with a simmering anger. "From what I can see, she wasn't wrong."

Hiei didn't respond to that so Yusuke continued. "What the hell were you doing following us today, huh?" The fire demon's eyes narrowed and Yusuke gave a dry, humorless chuckle. "Yeah, I know that you were on the roof of the bar, Hiei. My question is; why?"

The youkai didn't answer for a second before he looked to the ground, not avoiding Yusuke's gaze, but choosing more interest in the leaf-carpeted floor. "Why doesn't he talk?"

Yusuke was taken back by the abrupt question, but his surprise only lasted for a minute. His eyes steeled slightly, but he wasn't as good at it as the fire demon or the fox. Some anger still showed through. "You know why; you were listening. '_He can't; he's mute_.'"

The fire demon didn't seem to accept this answer as his fist clenched at his side. "How?" he asked angrily. "Kurama spoke perfectly fine his entire life; what happened to change that?"

Yusuke's eyes grew narrow with anger. He jumped off the log to stand, hands crossed over his chest, in front of Hiei. His yelling voice carried through the woods. "What happened? A demon slit his throat, that's what happened!"

Hiei's eyes widened slightly, but showed no other emotion before he asked in a perfectly steeled voice, "When?"

Yusuke's eyes turned almost feral with his barely concealed rage, and they shimmered red with his demonic powers. He uncrossed his arms to wave them angrily. "When? When do you think, Hiei? I mean, are you so oblivious to everyone but yourself that you just _failed to notice_ the bandages around his neck that morning? Did you just _fail to notice_ the blood that spilt when you shoved him? Did you just fail to notice that he **never spoke a single word in his defense**?"

The woods echoed in an eerie silence as Yusuke's voice died down from its shouted level. A bird took flight several feet away as the sudden lack of peace and quiet frightened it. Hiei remained stoic, staring at the detective with emotionless eyes. His hands, however, were no longer clenched in fists.

"You are saying that he was mute _before_ I left?" Hiei asked tersely, his whole frame tense. Yusuke dropped his arms to his side, slouching his shoulders as he gave an exasperated sigh.

"Yeah, Hiei."

The fire demon didn't seem to have a reply to his answer as his red eyes glanced away. After a second, he returned to staring coolly at the raven-haired man. "But, that would mean-"

"Yeah, Hiei," Yusuke repeated, interrupting the demon as his voice grew soft, almost down to a whispered level. His eyes slowly returned to their normal chocolate brown and he jumped back up onto the log. "The demon that killed your sister was the one to take Kurama's voice from us."

Hiei didn't seem able to answer this revelation as millions of similar and different questions raced through his mind. _Kurama had been hurt during that attack? Could Kurama have gotten the wounds protecting Yukina? Would the fox have defended himself against Hiei's accusations had he been able to speak? ... And had anything else occurred that Hiei was unaware of?_

As Yusuke just sat quietly, waiting patiently for Hiei's reply, the fire demon finally turned to him. "What else?" he asked. Yusuke looked over at him with a bit of surprise at the suddenly random question. He gave a frown.

"What...else?" Yusuke repeated slowly, unsure of what Hiei was asking for.

"What else did the demon do?" Hiei asked in an impatient, slightly angered tone. Yusuke blinked for a second before he slowly answered, choosing his words carefully.

"Two sword wounds; one to the abdomen and another to the chest cavity," he replied as he attempted to keep his voice steady. Images of memories he had long since tried to bury began to cross his mind again.

Blood pooling on the floor, leaking into the wooden slats to leave a permanent bloodstain that they would never be rid of.

The fox's widened eyes, dulled past the extent of life as he stared at his own hand, the slim and delicate fingers coated with his own blood.

Yukina's lifeless body, slumped over in a shimmering pool of her –

Yusuke shook his head to clear his mind away from those horrible images, something that he had never quite been able to do. He turned his head as Hiei began speaking once again, his own words spoken slowly, cautious of the answer he would receive.

"And... the damage?" he asked. Yusuke thought, for a second, that Hiei was going to say more but when nothing came, he turned to stare into the woods. It was hard recalling everything that had happened damage-wise without actually remembering that day.

"Extensive," he began as he attempted to recap the wounds without bringing forth more memories. "The abdomen wound cut the entirety of his body. You can still see the puncture wound the floor received. Such an attack ruptured organs, caused extensive internal bleeding, and missed his spinal cord by a half inch."

He could hear Hiei hiss at the last bit of information. They had been lucky on that account. Had Kurama's spinal cord been hit, sliced, or destroyed, the fox would have been a lot more than mute.

He would have been paraplegic.

"The sword wound to his chest cavity once again impaled his entire body, breaking three ribs and skimming his right lung. The scar left in the floor from that one completely broke the wood beneath the tamate mats." Yusuke swallowed the rising bile in his throat as the memories he had tried to keep back overwhelmed his barrier and sought to torture his mind. Slowly, he trained his voice to sound robotic and continued, "There was minimal leakage of blood into the lungs upon impact, or so we believe, but internal bleeding increased dramatically when the weapon was withdrawn and his right lung failed immediately."

Hiei accepted this information with a nod although he felt strangely left out, as if Yusuke had more to say but was withholding it. He shook it off, as his earlier anger and determination seemed to vanish, leaving behind a burning curiosity and something that almost resembled a distant form or worry. Yusuke wondered if, for even just a second, Hiei understood why they were all still so mad at him for what he did to Kurama.

The fire demon was lost in his own thoughts, though. New ideas, ideas of guilt for what he did, for not noticing, for being so overwhelmed by Yukina's death to care, were filing into his head. They left more questions then they answered and were soon replaced by more and more.

Finally, the fire demon spoke again, shoving everything aside when a particular thought occurred to him. Kurama had had a bandage under his clothing earlier; a bandage that wrapped around his neck.

"Yusuke..." Hiei began and the detective turned to him. His crimson eyes weren't focused on Yusuke, but rather the forest. "Why were their bandages on his neck?"

Yusuke answered without hesitation, but his voice portrayed how he had been hoping Hiei wouldn't ask that. "It is a result of an irremovable ward that was placed on him by the demon. It cuts off all excess energy but what is needed to survive or, in other words, the energy needed to sustain his life force. The lack of accessible energy has left his wounds permanently unhealed."

The shock that hit Hiei at that statement, despite the fact that it should have occurred to him, left him forgetting that he was furious with the fox; that he no longer cared. He immediately retorted in a surprised tone, "It's been five years!"

Yusuke, a bit taken back by the sudden change in the fire demon's expression, voice, and eyes, gave a nod. "Yes, and for five years Kurama has returned to the temple every weekend for Genkai, Tekara, and Botan to stretch their healing abilities enough to allow him to return to normal life. The healing leaves him with nothing but scars and he returns to his college classes and bartending job.

"By Friday, however, his wounds have slowly deteriorated back into wounds so fresh they could pass off as being cut the day before. His body will weaken throughout the week from not only a lack of energy, but also from his lack of sleep, due to his insomnia. Furthermore, his appetite will deteriorate beside his wounds and by the end of the week he won't be able to keep anything more than water down.

"Then he'll return to the temple to start the whole cycle over again," Yusuke finished summing up Kurama's own wretched existence in a bitter voice.

"My god," Hiei whispered to the air, not truly meaning for Yusuke to hear it. But the man did, and it only angered him.

"Oh, God has nothing to do with it, Hiei. Kurama has been living in his own personal hell for the last five years," he replied angrily, and the fire demon looked up at him with crimson eyes that, for the first time in five years, seemed uncertain, worried.

Yusuke finally got his anger back in check as he forced himself to look somewhere else. Hiei returned his gaze to the forest, his own thoughts slowly growing more and more guilty. As they sat there in infinite silence, Hiei finally spoke once again.

"What about Kuwabara?"

"What about him?" Yusuke asked rather harshly for the fact that he had been his best friend. "He was Kurama's closest friend through the ordeal; the only one to get close to him when the rest of us failed miserably. He was the only one Kurama could talk to, the only to hear the fox's silent pleas for help... Kurama talked to us through Kuwabara and learned sign language for the rest of the world. Seeing one without the other nearby was a rarity as the years passed."

Hiei seemed caught between annoyance and amusement at this particular thought and chose to ignore both feelings and skip back to the conversation at hand. "And now that he's dead?"

Yusuke automatically flinched at the sudden reminder, not that he had forgotten after the wake earlier that morning, but he seemed very uncomfortable to discuss the matter. "Now Kurama is lost to us," he said instead. When Hiei gave a single, raised eyebrow in question, Yusuke continued, "Kuwabara was Kurama's only link to this world, his only helping hand from the hell he lives in.

"Sure, I can talk to Kurama, listen to him, but I was never the one who could hear him," Yusuke replied, speaking with more wisdom than even he realized. Hiei blinked but spared no time for thought.

"What of the Fool's killer?" he asked, wondering if he should have used Kuwabara's name in respect. After a second's thought of it, he shrugged. What better way to honor him than to treat him as Hiei had when they were all once friends, allies, and teammates?

Yusuke didn't seem to notice the use of Kuwabara's nickname and merely shrugged. "The same from five years ago, or so we assume." The detective gave a tired sigh. "And now Kurama has twice as much to fear and no one to protect him. I just...I'm not the one to get through to him. I can't protect him if I can't really talk to him."

Hiei gave a slight nod, seemingly understand the plight Yusuke was in and his inability to put it into words. The fire demon opened his mouth to say more before closing it, rethinking, thinking, scrapping the idea, and finally screwing it to hell and opened his mouth to say rather cautiously, "He...does not seem very saddened for one whose best friend just died."

The fire demon had been right to pause in speaking this as Yusuke's eyes narrowed in rising anger. Hiei seemed to be very adept at making the man angry tonight. He spoke in a tight, stoic voice, "Kurama will not cry for him. Kurama will not cry for anyone."

The reply was extremely vague and answered very little. And although it was a warning not to ask more, Hiei decided to push the detective further. "You didn't seem all that saddened, either, this evening, Detective."

That had certainly peaked Yusuke's anger. The man seemed ready to throttle the smaller demon and he clenched his hands at his sides, his dull nails biting into his flesh. "I am Kurama's last chance to stay connected to this world, Hiei," he seethed through clenched teeth. "What hope would I be for him if I were to break down and cry for his closest friend when he would not?"

"Why? Why won't he?"

Yusuke seemed suddenly taken back, realizing that he was practically shaking in anger while Hiei's voice was simply curious, if not filled with eager worry. Although the frustration and rage did not shrink any, he calmly turned to gaze at the forest floor where the line of trees made the clearing they sat in.

"Try asking yourself that before you ask me. I think you'll know the answer far better than I would, Hiei," he replied in a very thick, stoic voice. The fire demon's eyes narrowed as his brow furled, trying to make sense of the Detectives words.

'_Crying..._' Hiei whispered in his mind. _'**Ningens, Hiei**, Kurama had tried to explain it once...**Ningens cry when they are hurt, physically or mentally**...'_

'_**Then why are you crying?**...That's right...he was trying to teach me sentimentality. He had been crying...he had been crying for a long time...'_

'_**I cry for my mother, Hiei**...That ningen woman...Kurama had cried when she had died...so why not when the fool had?'**Her death has hurt me greatly in a mental aspect, as Yukina's death would hurt you.**_'

Hiei froze. Yukina's death had not caused him tears; it had caused him anger. And he had used that anger on the fox, desperate to be rid of it, to blame someone. So Yukina's death might have hurt Hiei mentally, but it was Kurama who had been hurt physically.

'_But that does not truly explain why he does not cry...' _he reasoned. After a second, however, he changed his mind. _'No... it does.'_

'_**I have never seen you cry before, Fox **...and I hadn't. He had never once cried for his physical pain, or any that I had ever seen. But he had laughed at my response, wiping the tears off of his cheeks.''_

'_**You will not often see me cry for anything more than the death of a great friend, Hiei. Physical pain does not cause me tears as it does others, my little fire demon.** ButYukina had died that night and Kurama couldn't, for whatever reason, save her...So then, perhaps he had already been feeling guilty...Perhaps he had already been crying...'_

"Yusuke," Hiei suddenly called to the man beside him. Yusuke had been sitting silent, allowing the quiet forest around him to calm his angry nerves as the fire demon thought over the information he received.

"What?" he asked in a dull, nonchalant voice. If Hiei was bothered by it, he showed no notice.

"Was Kurama crying when you found him? Did he cry after I...after I left?" he asked, hesitantly mentioning his abandonment of the group. Yusuke tossed the flare of anger that accompanied Hiei's statement aside and answered steadily.

"Yes. By the time we found him he was not crying, but there were hints that he had, such as the tracks left in the blood on his face where his tears had fallen..." Hiei mentally flinched at the odd, unemotional tone of Yusuke's matter-of-fact voice.

"And after you left...He cried once," the man gave a shrug, inwardly trying hard not to cry, "Just one tear. And since then he hasn't let a single other drop." The detective pushed off the tree trunk he sat on and slipped the five or so feet to the ground. "Come on, it's time to go back."

Hiei watched as the ex-tentai walked across the small clearing before the raven-haired man realized that the fire demon was not following. Yusuke turned as Hiei's thoughts raced through his head. "Are you coming?"

_'Kurama cried when I left not because of physical wounds...but because of Yukina's death...and my betrayal...' _

_  
'**Sounds stupid to me**...**Crying shows weakness, vulnerability. The loss of a person can be felt later. If there is nothing else to cry for, than I say it is a pointless action that I will never submit to**.'_

'_**That is because you are stronger than me, Dragon**..._ _Kurama had laughed; had seemed to forget his momentary plight. **When I cry, it is because I find something worth my sorrow and let it out. My weakness can be dealt with later; pain of loss is something that needs immediate relief.**_

_'**Besides...There is one other thing that ningens cry for, and that is a broken heart**...I had only laughed at these words. They were pointless.'_

_'**If your heart broke, Fox, you would die. There'd be no time for trivial crying.**'_

_'**Not that kind of broken heart, Dragon. You take things too literal for this world**...Literal? I guess things were different back then...literal...joking...laughter...it was all such a luxury. One wasted now.'_

'_**A broken heart, Hiei, is when you care for someone deeply, love them more than you thought possible**...what had that look been...that sorrowful, distracted look the fox had taken up? **And then they turn around and hurt you, fill you with a pain that you have never witnessed before, let a lone feel. It can make you do stupid things. Make you wish with all your heart that the tears would just stop, that the pain would disappear. **Kurama had suddenly snapped out of his reverie and smiled. **I hope you never see me cry for that reason, Hiei. And I hope you never feel a broken heart**.'_

_'**Hn. I would not fall to such a stupid sickness**. And yet...that smile the fox had given in reply had suddenly seemed so sad. Was that it? Was that why he stopped crying? Because I broke his heart? Because all he longed for were the tears to stop?' _

The fire demon made up his mind with an uncertain and weak determination. He gave a curt shake of his head. "No, I'm not coming. I...think I'll stay here. I guess I have a lot to consider," he replied without truly locking eyes with the detective. Yusuke seemed almost relieved, happy that the fire demon might think things over.

"Very well then, you know how to get back," he replied as he turned and started into the trees. Before his form had completely disappeared, he stepped back, showing his face once more to the fire demon.

"Hiei, let me give you on last thing to think about," he began and the fire demon looked over to him, finally meeting his chocolate brown eyes. "Had Kuwabara or I got to the temple a minute later that night, had Genkai not forced herself awake, had Kurama not clung to life for those last seconds... You would be mourning the loss of a sister _and_ a lover, instead of crying for one and hating the other.

"Think about it." Yusuke turned and walked back into the woods, leaving a lightly frowning fire demon alone to sit in the clearing until the sun reached high noon the next day.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Yusuke was training, balancing on the end of the beam that supported the top of the pagoda style roof that housed the temple. His index finger was shaking every so slightly as he exerted the smallest amounts of his energy to stay upright on that single finger.

He split his legs for a second in hopes that the blood might decide to flow to them for a few seconds. When the limbs remained numb, he sighed but maintained his handstand position as he bent his arm slightly, preparing to jump enough to turn his finger and therefore turn himself.

He had already done enough to make three-quarters of a turn when Hiei landed softly behind him, his silent boots landing on the roof tiles instead of the wooden roof tip that Yusuke was currently balancing on.

"Hey, Hiei," the man waved slightly with his free hand as he made another centimeter turn. "Figure out what you need to?"

The fire demon gave his customary, "hn," and sat down on the roof, waiting for the detective to finish his training. When Yusuke made another half inch turn, wobbling slightly, the fire demon shook his head and regarded the skeptically strange idea of Genkai's training.

"I'll be done in just a second," Yusuke said as if reading the demon's thoughts and he turned once more. As he lined up to look back down the line of the roof and the fire demon sitting on it, he collapsed. Standing back up at his original starting position, he let his arms hang at his sides and prepared for the head rush he'd get from all his blood being spun upside down like sand in an hourglass.

"So," he said as he turned to the fire demon, "what did you figure out?"

Hiei seemed a bit hesitant to say what he wanted to, but he gave a slight shrug, "It is still unclear whether Kurama did all he could to save my sister, and I doubt that any demon who left him alive could not be defeated had the youko tried. Therefore, I still harbor anger for the fox for not protecting my sister but...I too am at fault. I guess that I was so consumed with Yukina's death that I did not think about Kurama's life. Or...at least what might have happened to it."

Yusuke seemed to think about his answer for a few seconds, before he replied, "No, I guess you didn't."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Alright, this chapter is really iffy in my mind. I'm not really sure I like it yet. So be prepared for a possible deletion and re-writing of it, though it's not likely to happen.

I don't have that sort of time.

Anyways...I really don't like the scene with Kurama and the sleeping potion...but I kinda like...but I don't really...but I do...Oh, screw it.

**Author's Notes: **

_...He had never had insomnia before, but he was sure that it might drive anyone to take pills for such... _Hey, I'm not an insomniac, but I take a normal one to two hours to fall asleep every night and am a natural born Night-person. I know what it's like to not be able to fall asleep and, most of the time, I love it.

This saying above does not express my feeling for on and off insomnia, or a person who is truly an insomniac, so do not take it to the heart or offensively.

_...You take things too literal for this world..._Sorry, but I can so picture Hiei being very literal what with all the dumb sayings we humans have. (Like "Keep your eyeballs peeled" I mean, can you say "OW!")

_...You would be mourning the loss of a sister and a lover, instead of crying for one and hating the other..._ Alright, now I'm no Dr. Suess, and I didn't mean for that to rhyme, but I love that concept and the line. Yusuke seems to be a lot more...mature, don't you think?

_... It is still unclear whether Kurama did all he could to save my sister... Therefore, I still harbor anger for the fox..._ No one actually knows what happened that night (they're almost as in the dark as you guys are! 8D) So Hiei figures that Kurama wouldn't have just let the demon hurt him, so he must have defended Yukina, but if he did, then he didn't do a good enough job if he's alive and she is not. It is just the way Hiei thinks and views things _in this story_. So, I hope it seems...true enough.

Also, even though Yusuke seems really oblivious to Kuwabara's death, this is only because he doesn't deem it fair to cry in front of Kurama when the fox refuses to. You all saw him a few chapters ago crying for the fool of a great guy, so don't tell me he's heartless, cause he's not!

Alright, now if you're real good, and a very observant reader, you'll notice something.

When I refer to images of _that night_there is an inconsistency in the memories. See if you can find it and let me know! You'll get

1. A nice cyber popsicle (I'm still trying to figure out who stole the cookies from my cookie jar, rather than just go bye more)

2. My gratitude for not only paying attention, but letting me know how well I'm writing these little hidden things.

Thanks for reading, keep guessing because I not only enjoy how my story comes across to others, it really helps me write, and I hope the chapter wasn't too bad...I'm still not so sure.

--eyes chapter suspiciously-


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** Yeah…Okay, this has got to be my favorite disclaimer:

I own absolutely nothing; just like the last author you read from, just like the next author you'll read from. You know, we should start an I-Own-Nothing-And-It's-Never-Gonna-Change Club. Don't ya think?

**Review Responses:** Well…I guess I can't respond individually (which sucks, sometimes, because some of you give me really funny things to say back!) but I can still thank all of you who reviewed.

So we'll give off the list of those who reviewed, thank them kindly, then answer any questions that may have come up indirectly. If I answer them indirectly I'm not breaking any rules! …Right?

Anyhoo!

**Thank You:**

Evene

KyoHana

KittyLuv

Nyte Kit

Berbec

Lazy Fat Kitsune

Mistress KC – Wanted Dead or Alive

Terri Botta

Now, answering indirectly! …Right?

Ahem…Okay no one correctly assumed the inconsistency, so I'll leave it open, as I…think it should come into play but not be a major plot line. However, three of you opened up some possibilities that should be addressed, both for cause and for aid.

First, Evene mentioned an inconsistency…actually I love the way Evene thinks…it's so utterly confusing that I understood it! You rock! Okay, well, I believe she thought the inconsistency was with when Kuwabara and Yusuke arrived and whether or not they were at the temple. Though not the correct inconsistency, she got very close when she began speaking of the reason _why_ it would take them some time to get up there.

Evene mentioned something about snow. There's your hint on the inconsistency.

Secondly, I believe it was KittyLuv who mentioned Genkai's absence during all this. Yes, she was at the temple. This might be an inconsistency _except_ for the fact that I haven't mentioned Genkai's role in any of it. So when I get to revealing the whole thing, which, alas, is not in the very near future (a.k.a. this chapter,) you'll find out everything as plain as day. You still get a Popsicle for thinking it through.

Thirdly, Nyte Kit thought about Hiei's arrival that night. Though she was incorrect in the inconsistency being whether Hiei showed up that night or the next morning, she was fairly close to hitting _right_ on target. Keep it up!

And Finally, (yes, this is number four) I think KyoHana actually got the inconsistency right…but I can't be positive because it wasn't in her review. I know someone did, but it was in an e-mail. And the only one who sent an e-mail was KyoHana. 8D Congrats.

**Clarification**:

Hiei showed up at the temple the following morning and that is when he injured Kurama.

Kurama was there at the temple that night so he could see Hiei the next morning.

Genkai was also at the temple because she lives there.

Yukina was at the temple because she lived there (and died there) ((This was not a clarification matter…I was just having fun listing who was at the temple 8D I've got issues))

**Notes**:

Alright! I'm glad the characters were all in character (…that seemed awfully redundant) last chapter. Let's see how well I do this time!

As with all my other stories, I must apologize for the immensely long span of time between updates. Such a horrible writer's block. But I do believe I'm slowly breaking it down!

Also, I'm having one small problem concerning Kurama's speech issue. Due to him being mute, any telepathic message that he speaks is either backed by extreme emotion to be able to get it through to any spiritual aware person, or can be heard as easily as normal speech by a telepathic person, such as Kuwabara.

My problem is that, in the past chapters, I left his speech in normal "quotations" mostly so it wouldn't 1) give away that he was mute and 2) confuse readers who didn't realize he was mute.

For now, I'm going to just leave it as such because I am not one for inconsistencies when they can be helped. Therefore, I am hoping and expecting all readers to recognize anything Kurama "says" by both contexts and emotional wording/cause.

I hope this doesn't cause too much trouble. Especially sense he talks a bit in this chapter, but the only ones you need to watch out for are the times he talks to Yusuke, though it should be obvious that it is Kurama talking telepathically.

Therefore: Run down!

**Kurama telepathic:** "blah"

**Kurama sign language: **_"blah"_

**All thoughts:** _'blah'_

(take note that all other telepathic conversation will be in _: blah : _(hence if Youko speaks or Hiei talks telepathically)

This shouldn't be too hard, so good luck!

Oh, and get excited people! FLASHBACK TIME! Weee, you get to know just the TINIEST little bit about that night, but maybe it will help!

(Note: Flashback is in all italics, above key to quote punctuation does not apply)

ONWARD!

­-o-o-o-o-

**_Embrace the Winter Snow_**

_Chapter 6_

-o-o-o-o-

Perhaps Genkai had added a _tad _too much sleeping serum to Kurama's tea last night.

Yusuke stood against the thin doorframe, watching the sleeping kitsune. The raven-haired man was sweating slightly, an ongoing result of his three hour work out up on the roof.

He pulled on the towel hanging around his neck and wiped his face once more before he threw it to the side (somewhere) and entered the room, walking towards the sleeping kitsune.

Perhaps Genkai had added a _lot_ too much sleeping serum to Kurama's tea last night.

The redhead lay in the soft noon sunlight that filtered through the cracked window. He slept soundly beneath the heavy layers of blankets draped on the low futon. His bright crimson hair was randomly spread about on the pillow, tangled and tossed in the fox's most likely upset sleep. Twisted strands of the garnet silk locks were draped around a bandaged neck and spilt over the pale skin of his face.

His chest rose in slow, rhythmic breaths that occasionally caused one or two strands to twitch and slide from his face with the light push. Long, thin fingers held a gentle grip on the edge of the many blankets, keeping them pulled tight towards his injured neck.

Yusuke sighed. He had to get Kurama up, despite the fox's desperate need for sleep. His need for clean, bandaged wounds properly healed took a much higher priority.

Yet, even as he knelt down next to the kitsune, he beheld a change in Kurama's sleep. The fox's breath hitched in this throat and his head tilted to the side in a distressed manner. Slim fingers clenched the edge of the blankets, knuckles turning near white. His pale pinks lips pursed together in a silent moan that could be heard only by one who had known the fox in several years of indefinite silence.

The soft-faced fox tossed his head in distress as a light sheen of sweat began forming on his forehead, immediately inviting his bangs to stick to his pale flesh. Small beads began to form and roll slowly off his smooth face as a noiseless whimper caused his breath to shake.

It was a nightmare. Yusuke knew it from the multiple times it happened a week, if not a day. It was always the same nightmare, though Yusuke knew nothing of it but for the painful memory it held.

He had no doubt on the subject, however.

Out of experience, the raven-haired detective knew the way to free Kurama from his hell; knew the quickest and most efficient method to rescue his friend.

Kneeling down beside the fox on the futon, he gently bent forward. He scooped the fox's torso into his arms, much as one would a child, and lifted his upper body. Using a quite stealth that he could never possibly possess in battle (it just wasn't his style, after all) he slid behind the fox and leaned back against the wall, gently pulling Kurama against him so that the kitsune leaned against his chest. With his legs on either side of Kurama, he gently wrapped his arms around the kitsune.

Though crude, there was nothing more Yusuke could do, as Kurama grew more distressed, attempting to pull away from the detective. The warmth of another, which was what Kurama had truly lost more than anything else, would slowly wake him up from his hell quicker and more soundly than any amount of shaking would do.

So Yusuke leaned his head against the wall and began to quietly offer words of comfort to the unhearing ears of the fox within his arms.

It would only be a matter of time.

-o-o-o-o-

_Cold darkness was all around him in an icy blanket of soothing quietness. The chilly blackness was a calming relief against his warm, flushed skin and the pitch of midnight color around him was silent comfort to the normally hectic routine consciousness. _

_In fact, the darkness was a familiar haze; a black fog that blanketed the world within his vision. There was nothing around him that was of importance: nothing to hear, nothing to see, nothing to know._

_There was nothing._

_But then…if there was nothing, why was he aware of it? If there were truly nothing, then there would also be nothing to think of. Yet, he was thinking away, thoughts running slowly through the haze of black fog._

_Yes, he was aware, that's what it was. Awareness. _

_But aware of what? Where was he? He knew this place, he knew this fog. He had seen it so very many times. _

_That's it. The darkness, the haze, the dulled senses. _

_But his awareness…_

_He was awake._

_…And the darkness just happened to be because of his closed eyelids. Ah, there, now he could see… _

_…more darkness._

_No, no, that was just the ceiling. Of course it was dark, it had to be the middle of the night. There was only a soft flittering of blue moonlight entering the room, splashing over his face with the gentle sway of the snow-covered branches outside his open window._

_Right…he was awake. So…why was he awake, again?_

_His eyes darted towards the Japanese paper door as a soft thud far in the distance brought his attention away from the hazy fog of sleep. _

_That was it…not that noise…no, there was one before it…through that darkness, there had been a noise that awoke him from his dreamy sleep. _

_Something…no, some**one** had screamed. _

_But who? And Why? He had sensed no demons; no danger; hell, he hadn't even sensed any energy, foreign or friendly._

_He roused himself; he had to get up. Genkai…Yukina…they were in the temple. If there was any trouble…anything he'd slept through…he'd never forgive himself. _

_It was probably nothing, but he couldn't risk it. He fought off the last bit of sleep that clouded his senses and stood, throwing the blankets of the futon off. Reaching his hand to his shoulder, he flipped his hair off his bare skin, the silky strands free of tangles. _

_Pulling his hand back to his side, he held a bright red rose, its crimson petals velvety soft and stem a deep, forest green. Thorns sharp enough to pierce most substances littered the green lifeline and yet avoided their owner's skin. Lush, smooth-rimmed leaves randomly dotted out between his long, slim fingers. _

_It was a deadly weapon within his hands alone. He prayed he wouldn't need it._

_He moved as silently as a fox in the woods (ironically) as he padded barefoot across the tamati mats of the temple room. As he neared the door, he fingered the rose, preparing to strike as the sound of a foot scraping the mats just outside brought his attention to someone standing before his room._

_He raised the weapon as his hand reached out for the wooden doorframe. Slim, long fingers touched the very edge of the rough wood._

_It slid open before he could even apply pressure. The rose dropped from his posed fingers._

_With wide eyes, he stepped back on impulse, moving as far from the intruder as he could in only two steps. His forest green eyes were full of curious surprise. _

_What was going on?_

_The newcomer took a step closer, entering the room. He didn't move at the intruder's entrance, but his wide-eyed expression didn't alter, either. The intruder took another step forward as a smirk began to appear on pale lips._

_"What's wrong, Kurama?"_

-o-o-o-o-

Kurama shot up, eyes open wide and mouth forming a silent scream. Yet, he did not get far before two strong arms around his torso pulled him tightly back against a muscular chest.

"No! Get away from me!" Kurama's scream rang in Yusuke's head and he shut his eyes tightly against the oncoming headache that such a mental onslaught would surely bring.

The fox's breathing was quick and deep, coming in long, frightened pants as he struggled against Yusuke's hold. However, logic soon overcame his fright and calmed his body within the detective's grasp.

His forest green eyes began to clear from their foggy depths of nightmarish sleep and the fox began to regain his intelligent thought, habit deeming his brain to calm his body. Forcing his breath to calm and his chest to stop heaving under Yusuke's arms, he leaned back against the warm body behind him.

Yusuke quieted him gently as he loosened his hold on the fox. It took several long minutes, but the kitsune was soon back to normal, eyes lightly closed and breathing calmed.

"Shh, you're alright, Kurama." The fox nodded silently as Yusuke continuously encouraged him with comforting words. Though it felt awkward for him, the raven-haired detective had quickly learned that his awkwardness was well worth the escape from Kurama's pain.

Slowly, the fox lifted his hands, just the sluggish way he moved indicating his exhaustion, even after ten full hours of sleep. Moving his hands, Yusuke followed the gestures, easily interpreting as Kurama went.

"Don't apologize," he quickly reprimanded, though did so in a soft voice. Kurama was looking at him, head tilted back and to the side so he could see the detective behind him.

Yusuke gently released his hold on Kurama, confident that the fox was recovering. He gently moved his hands to rest on either side of the kitsune's shoulders. "Listen to me, Kurama… What happened that night…it wasn't your fault; none of it was your fault. Don't you ever blame yourself."

Kurama turned his head back to face forward before slowly leaning against the man's shoulder, his red hair sliding over Yusuke's shirt. The detective didn't seem to notice, he was staring off into a distance that none could see.

"Kurama, what happened to Yukina…there was nothing you could do…There was nothing that you didn't do. I don't want you to ever believe what Hiei said to you… Don't you dare, do you understand me?"

The fox was silent for a long moment, and Yusuke wondered if he had possible fallen back to sleep. But after a period of time, the kitsune slowly nodded.

But his piercing green eyes were focused on the falling snow outside his window.

-o-o-o-o-

_"For the last time, Yusuke, I'll be fine for five minutes on my own! Believe it or not, I'm not a child. Now go already!"_

Yusuke laughed as Kurama ended his last gesture. "Well, I choose not to believe that, Fox-_boy!" _He gave a teasing smirk as he ruffed the fox's red hair, creating quite a mess of the locks. Kurama glared as he pushed the hand off his head. "I'll be back in an hour, so stay out of trouble, _kid_!"

Kurama rolled his eyes. Why had he even opened his mouth? …er…or gestured with his hands…?

The fox gave a tired sigh as Yusuke jogged over to the staircase that led down to the civilized world below the temple compound. The fox sat on the cold concreted of the garden bench, the only object not covered with half a foot of snow.

It was beautiful, even Kurama could admit that; possibly the most beautiful thing he saw in anything anymore. But it was still snow.

It was cold. Icy to the touch. It hurt to stay in contact for too long.

…It was just another form of pain.

The fox gave another sigh and gave a weak attempt at drawing his thoughts away from such dismal despair. And, as always, his attempt was half-backed and pointless.

Nothing every changed that way. He didn't suppose anything ever would.

_: You should not think such things_ Youko's voice was earnest, but not hopeful. Despite the comfort the fox spirit often gave him, Youko was nothing but a hypocrite.

That fox didn't believe anything would get better. He was just better at keeping his thoughts hidden.

Kurama gave another soft sigh, this one silent to the outside world. He was sick of sighing.

"Then why don't you stop?"

Kurama froze, his entire body going stiff at the sound of the new voice. A voice that he had not properly heard in five years. His breath hitched in his throat and he could feel his palms grow clammy with sweat.

He didn't want this. He didn't want to see him. He didn't want to hear that voice. He was imagining it. If he imagined it gone, it wouldn't be there.

_: You think that plan will work now, with **him,**__when it failed to work with the pain: _

Why did that damn fox only ever speak when he wished for nothing more than silence?

"Will you not even look at me?" Kurama's attention was immediately caught and his eyes lifted in a darting speed, connecting with crimson orbs.

Green eyes were narrowed to slits and formed a death glare worthy of the applied name. Those endless depths held nothing but hatred and a fierce, burning urgency, though what for was unreadable.

And, sure enough, the figure before him still stood, despite his desperate will to imagine him away.

Hiei did not back down, or even flinch, from the look Kurama bathed him in. The fire demon simply met the glower with an emotionless mask. There was nothing to gain from returning the fierce stare.

The fire demon did not pull away from the staring contest, but continued with a conversation that, for the first time in the history of their acquaintance, would be one sided on _his _part.

"Will you not speak, Kurama?" Hiei knew very well that that fox could not. He remembered perfectly the words with which Yusuke had used to jab him in the chest earlier that same morning.

But he wanted proof. He wanted to know why. And he would provoke the fox, if need be, to get his answers.

Kurama's glare did not end, but he stood, feet bare in the snow, and turned away from the fire demon. As he began to head back to the temple, he spoke simple words, the message easily picked up by Hiei's Jagan.

"You of all people should know a wordless man when you see one, Hiei."

The fire demon was not satisfied with this alone, though it was the proof he needed to confirm the fox's inability to form words any longer.

"And why is that, Kurama?" He slowly climbed the stairs up to the temple's outer porch right behind the fox. Hiei could easily feel the unease and uncertainty flowing off the kitsune.

He obviously wanted away from the fire demon. He'd get no such thing until Hiei was satisfied with the answers he received. Surely Kurama knew this.

"Perhaps because you once spoke less words than I. Though, no longer can you claim that attribute."

Kurama never turned around as his words formed with fierceness in Hiei's mind. The fire demon held back the pain that such an angry onslaught might cause an inexperienced mental talker (A.K.A. Yusuke.)

"No, I suppose I can't. Though I don't suppose the demon who did such could do so easily, either." Hiei truly had no idea what had possessed him to say such words, or what they might truly mean.

He cared not for what they stood for, or the anger he might receive. What he wanted was the reaction from such a mention. As far as he was concerned, from all that he had seen in the past two days, everyone babied Kurama.

He was a spoiled child given anything he'd wanted because someone had hurt him. Now it was time to see if the five years' worth of ego-boosting had gone to his head.

For, of course, Hiei believed that Kurama most likely deserved what he had received. The fox knew how to protect himself; had he been so unable to that he had allowed an enemy access to his throat, a being's most vulnerable body part, than he was either a fool or an idiot.

And Hiei would find out which it was.

Kurama, meanwhile, had stopped dead in his tracks, halfway down the temple porch and soon to round the corner to the west-facing side. But he took no further step, instead choosing to turn around and regard the fire demon with a look twice as fierce as his last.

Hiei wasn't sure he'd even acknowledged that Kurama could _be_ so angry.

"You dare to mock me, fire demon!" The voice held much more Youko in it than true Kurama, but there was no mistaking the angry mix of both voices intertwined with the spat words. "Leave this place, you are welcomed here no longer, hiyoukai!"

To say that Hiei was surprised would be an overstatement. Though a bit taken back by the order, which only provoked a certain sense of angry defiance, Hiei stood his ground.

"And if I don't?" The fire demon knew what boundaries he was pushing. He was close to pushing the Youko in Kurama out for good, and then he might have an actual fight on his hands.

Not quite what he had been looking for, but he might be able to get answers out of the less refined (and more prideful) spirit fox.

Kurama's eyes narrowed and flashed gold. Though they retained their green color, Hiei could see where some of the liquid yellow color had remained. He was definitely pushing boundaries.

"Shuichi may still protect you, half-breed (Why? I haven't got a clue) but do not expect the same treatment from me." His voice was icy cold and deeper. All traces of Shuichi, despite his outward appearance remaining human, were gone. "Enter these grounds again, fire demon; threaten his well being once more…and I will have your head…despite what Shuichi may say of it."

With that, Kurama turned and immediately entered the temple, using the closest available door and sliding it shut with a slam behind him.

Hiei watched with emotionless eyes, letting the fox retreat into his safe-hold. He did not move, however. He did not leave the temple grounds, nor even stray back to the garden.

He had not received the answers he had wanted. He had not gotten the information he desired.

And that was simply unacceptable.

-o-o-o-o-

Hope you guys like it. I was up till three writing it…I'm a bit iffy on parts of it, mostly the end where Hiei and Kurama talk…though I mostly like it. Just a few bits I'm not so sure about.

Oh well, you live to learn only after you've learned to live.

**Author's Notes**:

_…The warmth of another … was what Kurama had truly lost more than anything else… _Translation: Of everything that happened to Kurama, the pain, the injury; out of everything he lost: his voice, Yukina; what he lost the most, what hurt him the deepest, was the loss of his lover.

You know, I've begun to realize that I write a story, then re-read it and have no idea what the hell I was trying to say. It's like…I get really philosophical ideas without knowing it, write them on paper in nice, fancy ways, and then when I go back to proof read, I'm an idiot who looks at the sentence and goes "Huh!"

…Just…no, there's just no comment to that.

_…Entire Flashback scene…_ Please note that it is important to realize two things in that Flashback. One, I never once mentioned Kurama's name in it (until the last line, but that was dialogue) and Two, I never once mentioned the sex of the intruder. Please don't forget that and make assumptions on it.

_…But it was still snow…It was cold. Icy to the touch. It hurt to stay in contact for too long… _Ahem…Hint: He's not talking about snow anymore.

_…He was sick of sighing…"Then why don't you stop"… _Please note that Hiei is one of the Telepathic people mentioned earlier in my beginning chapter notes. He can hear Kurama easily.

_…As far as he was concerned… everyone babied Kurama…_ I actually very much like Hiei's manner of dealing with this confrontation. Instead of saying "Hn" every two seconds and being cold and rude, he's pushing for answers and doing what he has to do to get them.

Including saying hurtful things.

But, then again, please keep in mind that Hiei has not forgiven Kurama and, in his eye, the fox has been babied. He's been hidden from all painful things in the world and given everything he could need.

In Hiei's eyes, Kurama didn't do everything possible to protect his sister and, therefore, deserved what had happened to him.

Whether this is true or not (and we honestly don't know at the moment…well, I do, but you guys don't) it is Hiei's view and it will affect the way he deals with the kitsune.

Alright! I'd like to mention that, while Hiei may seem out of character in the last conversation, it would be awfully hard to put him perfect. After all, we base "In character" as being the way the characters acted in the show. And we never saw Yukina get murdered or Kurama mute, injured, and once in love with Hiei, now did we?

So I'm going on how I think they would best react, as well as what fits the story best. So…nnn –sticks out tongue- deal with it if you don't like it.

8D Enough yelling at the readers. Not nice, no no…bad author bad author!

Kit: …You have had too much sugar.

So…any comments, questions, or more guesses on anything, just send it in a review.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you all liked it!

Sorry, once more, for the delay!


	7. Chapter 7

**Dislcaimer**: Sigh. Don't own it.

**Notes**: Okay, I know I just updated this story, and that I should be writing a chapter of something else, like Memories of the Lost, but I was more drawn to this story.

We're getting so close to the climax!

Be happy Kuwa-kun fans! He's back…in a story sense, not in a life-sense.

**Note 2**: Please remember this line from the last chapter, if you have not read it recently:

Youko to Hiei: "Enter these grounds again, fire demon; threaten his Shuichi's well being once more…and I will have your head…despite what Shuichi may say of it."

It comes into minor play here, and I just didn't want anyone to be lost by a reference to it.

-o-o-o-o-

**_Embrace the Winter Snow_**

_Chapter 7_

-o-o-o-o-

Kuwabara sat with his back against the soft white bark of the oddly twisted trunk. In the many days that he had resided in this land in between worlds, the orange-haired man had grown to rather like the strange, purple-leaved tree.

And it had been staked as _his tree_. At least, that was what one of the locals had said. And by locals, we of course mean the pigmy people that ran around, not two feet tall and seemingly made of bark and leaf themselves.

Those were certainly something when kept in numerous company. Their idea of "singing" was a high-pitched chirp combined with a deep grumbling in their throats.

Kuwabara shuddered thinking about it.

They were nice…pigmy things; very nice and welcoming, but they certainly had a creepy aspect to them. Especially their eyes, normally gold or yellow, that took up half of their face at least and stared at you with a wide, innocent gaze.

Then there was their curiosity. It was enough to drive anyone insane. Anything they saw anyone do, they had to repeat (including one of the smallest ones, who stood for three and a half hours waiting for a worm to come up out of the ground so it could peck at it like a bird.) Which meant that they were constantly following Kuwabara around, playing their game of copy-cat.

The man had thought he might go insane within a day.

Yet, in the end, they proved to be good company in this lonely land.

And lonely it certainly was. When Koenma came to visit, which was as often as could with all his paperwork and world-running to do, he would tell Kuwabara of all the other humans and demons that wondered the meadows and plains.

But the man couldn't see them; he never would. He was in the Intermediate World: the world between worlds. It was a place for lost souls to go; souls that didn't know who they were; souls that had been wondering so long they'd lost sight of their purpose; and souls like himself, those killed without reason, their own pasts a story of treachery and traitors.

Koenma said that hundreds of them wandered the plains of the Intermediate World, but they never saw anything more than then a paradise picked specifically for them. For one lost soul there might be a crystal beach and flowing water under waving palms. Another might be wandering among snow-capped mountains and white pines.

Kuwabara sat underneath an odd, purple-leaved tree in a meadow that seemed to have jumbled up the color scheme quite a bit.

He still hadn't quite figured that one out yet.

But these lost souls were everywhere, often within feet of the ex-detective, or so Koenma said. Yet one would never see another soul in the Intermediate World if one was a resident themselves. Although shaped to be a paradise, it was really a prison, meant to keep one locked helplessly away from either world until their pasts and futures could be found.

Kuwabara was aware of his position. Koenma knew where his future was and what it would be, and he certainly knew of his past. So then, you may ask, why would he be there?

To put it simply, they knew not of his death.

One can not pass into the next life leaving behind a blank in the texts. Before Kuwabara could return to the living world in a reincarnated form, they would have to discover the truth to his past.

And since none knew his killer, he could not proceed to the next world. After all, fate leaves nothing uncovered and, though Koenma knew everything fate had to offer on everyone, there were some things even fate didn't know.

Like the name of his killer.

Which would stay safe and secure within his own heart and mind. His and Kurama's, that was.

But that was a thought for another time. The pigmy that was beside him (of which he had named Akira, though it did little good as many of them looked so alike) was beginning to climb up the tree in a sluggish manner, it's mouth chirping happily away in the series of clicks and screech-chirps that made up the "pigmy language."

Akira never left his side (if it was, indeed, Akira every time, as it really was so difficult to tell them apart) unless he had company coming, or the sun was beginning to fade in a starry sky.

And seeing as the sun was in a high noon position, as it had been for the last fourteen hours (the sun only sank when Kuwabara felt the need for it to, and he certainly hadn't felt like dwelling in the dark or even the land of dreams of late,) he quietly turned his gaze to the left.

Visitors always came through a doorway made from two immense, arching trees. As thick as a man, they arched sideways to form an arc of hanging branches and thick, green leaves.

Through this doorway the scenery began to shimmer slightly and turn like water gently disturbed by a ripple. And then, as if stepping out of a wall of water, Yusuke Urameshi entered into the Intermediate World.

He looked around briefly before spotting the orange-haired man beneath his white and purple tree. Waving to him, he started towards Kuwabara. Oddly enough (though Kuwabara had grown used to it, as all visitors did it) Yusuke was walking as if dodging many unseen things.

The man knew he was moving around the hundreds of other souls that wandered the plain.

"Hey, Kuwabara," Yusuke said as he plopped down unceremoniously next to his friend. The orange haired man put down the book he had been reading, book marking his page as he did.

It wasn't like him to read in life, but when one had nothing to do…

"Hey," he replied with a stupid-silly grin he always got when he saw Yusuke. "Anything new? I thought you were watching over K'rama."

The raven-haired man shook his head in answer to the first question and locked his eyes on his friend's black ones. "I was; he's back in Reikai. He…doesn't like being trailed everywhere he goes and…though he's restricted to the Reikai palace and Grandma's temple, he is already sick of being followed like a child."

Yusuke put his head in his hands as he suppressed a low groan. "It hasn't even been three days and he's gone insane. He's already wandered off into the woods twelve times. Twelve fucking times! And he won't listen to me when I tell him not to go!"

"Yusuke," the man glanced up at the mix of seriousness, sorrow, and amusement in his friend's tone, "Kurama is a fox, a mischievous and sly animal. No animal likes to be cooped up in a cage."

The raven-haired man smirked slightly to stop a frown from coming over his face. The smirk turned to a teasing grin as he pointed at Kuwabara, poking him in the chest.

"You're starting to sound all philosophical. This world has given you too much time to think," he smirked as Kuwabara began to frown and sense what was coming next. "Be careful, Kuwa-_kun_, it might make your head explode!"

"Urameshi!" Yusuke dodged a fist and rolled away, standing up to avoid a charging Kuwabara.

The two ran in circles for several moments before Kuwabara jumped and attempted to pummel his friend into the ground.

He didn't succeed.

Yusuke laughed as he collapsed against Kuwabara's tree, the teen in tow with a blackening eye and unruly hair. Folding his hands behind his head, the raven-haired man leaned back to observe his surroundings.

"This place isn't so bad," he commented lightly. Kuwabara sighed; Yusuke had said something of the sort the first time he had visited. He was only trying to console the orange-haired man.

"Yeah, I guess," Kuwabara replied as he sat down beside his friend. "Though, it's a bit lonely sometimes."

Yusuke was quiet for a long while before he tilted his head back slightly, taking in the purple leaves and yellow flowers above them. "…You know you can always move on, Kuwabara…"

The man didn't reply for about an equal amount of time before he quietly answered, "No, I can't…and you know I can't. I won't give the name, Yusuke. And besides, I still have something I need to do. I have to make sure that Kurama doesn't join me in this world, or any of the other than the one he lives in now, for that matter."

Yusuke frowned and stood, restlessly pacing in front of the deceased man. "Kuwabara…I'm just as worried for Kurama as you are, but I can't _do_ anything about it unless I know what I'm up against!

"I can't go after this guy and claim revenge, both for Yukina and for you! I can't protect Kurama because he refuses to be protected and I can't free you because you simply refuse to be freed! What the hell am I supposed to do?"

"The best that you can." Yusuke turned to look at Kuwabara's sober words. "No one is asking more than that. If Kurama does not want to be protected, then he won't be protected. But…that isn't the case, Yusuke.

"Kurama doesn't want to be treated as a child, unable to cross the street without holding someone's hand," Kuwabara slowly turned his gaze away from the teen to look out over the landscape before him. "Yukina and I do not need to be revenged just now. She is happy in her next life and I…I wish to be 'freed' as you put it, but I won't endanger Kurama."

"You won't be endangering him!" Yusuke shouted out in frustration, anger coming from his sorrow. "I'll protect him, but I can't do that if you won't tell me how! Why can't you tell me ho-"

Yusuke's words were cut off as he suddenly found himself in an embrace. Surprised, he blinked as Kuwabara held him tightly in a hug. Slightly embraced at the odd contact, he squirmed and the orange-haired man released him, but held onto both his shoulders at an arms length.

Staring straight into his eyes, and Yusuke unable to look away, Kuwabara spoke, "I will not reveal who harmed us, Yusuke. It would endanger so many more in just speaking the name aloud. But…I will give you a warning."

Kuwabara's voice dropped to a low whisper, "Kurama is in more danger than you know. The youko within him has been brought to his last strength and will no longer stand for the pain done to his human half. He is ready to fight back, Yusuke, and he will request to do it alone.

"Do not let him face his attacker alone. Do you understand me? He will fight on strength that he does not now possess…and he will loose." Kuwabara's grip had become almost painful against Yusuke's shoulders, digging into his collarbone.

"I do not want to see him in this world, or learn of his death once I am released. Do **not **let him fight alone, Yusuke," Kuwabara released his shoulders with a sudden face of impassive gentleness. "I have no choice but to leave him to you, Yusuke. I know you can protect him, and would even if it wasn't your job, but it is now your _responsibility_. You must not leave him alone, no matter what he says or how he pleads."

Yusuke, both stunned and fearful of all declared in this mini speech, was immobile, staring at his friend through wide eyes. He'd seen Kuwabara become passionate about a fight, or about his honor code, or about a friend, but this still scared him.

His friend was serious. He was laying out the responsibility of protecting the fox all within Yusuke's hands.

The man smiled slightly; he wouldn't let that trust down.

Clapping a hand over Kuwabara's back, he gave the man a thumbs up, causing the latter to yell something about childish demeanors and not taking anything seriously.

Which led to another fistfight, chase around the tree, and pummeling into the ground (the last one being on Yusuke's behalf.)

-o-o-o-o-

Kurama was waiting silently for Yusuke to leave Koenma's office, having been in there for at least half an hour, if not more.

A chair had been pulled up beside the two double doors and there is where he sat, watching the ogres hustle and bustle about, running here and there with stacks of papers.

Though bustling with activity, the office was a rather boring place. There was nothing new to see and after several minutes the running routes and routines of every ogre became apparent, memorized, and utterly dull and boring for the kitsune.

He turned his attention elsewhere, staring off into space while his thoughts turned towards other things.

Sometimes, more now on these recent visits, he thought of the possibility of living in the Reikai. Although it would be far from home, there was little reason left for him to reside there.

It was always beautiful on the other side of the Reikai palace, where the clouds formed islands that often turned the lightest shades of blue and purple when the sun sank slowly in the east.

And the River Styx ran beautiful once past the guards of the palace doors, where the souls trapped lightly within it's crystal waves were released for their destination beyond the world of the living.

And besides…it did not snow in the Reikai.

"Must everything with you end in an escape from snow?" Several days prior, Kurama's body would have frozen up immediately, gone rigid at the sound of the deep voice, echoing gently within the bustling noise and hubbub of activity that was Koenma's office.

But now Kurama only growled in silent annoyance, turning a very angry, but ignoring, glare in the direction of the fire demon, suddenly standing beside his chair as if he had been all day, and as if it was quite natural.

This was the third time this day, thetwelfth time since their first meeting, and the thirteenth total in the three days. Kurama was beginning to hate more than dread these sudden talks.

Hiei lightly cast aside the glare, not bothering to return it and schooling his expression to an almost thoughtful nonchalance. "Don't look at me that way, Kurama. I am not on Temple grounds and have not come to cause you any harm. Therefore, you have no need to speak of my death through your eyes."

Kurama's glare only darkened, but he moved it onto some unsuspecting ogre across the room rather than stare into the fire demon's crimson eyes. The purple-skinned ogre squeaked at the look that could turn a man to stone and ran for it, papers flying off the stack he held in his hands.

The fox decided staring up at the junction of wall and ceiling was a better plan.

Hiei stood, neither moving nor speaking, beside the fox as he stared off at the other wall in a similar motion as the kitsune. Were it not for the hostile vibes coming from Kurama or the overall violence imminent in the air between them, it would have been much like it was in the old days, when the two would stand beside one another with no need to talk nor move but simply enjoy one another's company.

One ogre passing by later reported that he could see lightly sparking between the two of them, though it seemed more one-sided.

After a while, Kurama's patience wore thin and with a very cold voice, close but certainly not Youko's voice, he turned to the youkai with a loathsome glare. "What are you doing here, fire demon?"

"I have a name," the flame wielder replied easily, no malice in his voice.

"Not one worth using."

Hiei simply shrugged off the insult that, in any other case, he would have cut Kurama's head off for. But, for some odd reason that he could not alone justify with_ "I need answers_,_"_ Hiei couldn't bring himself to fully hate the fox any longer. Nor could he bring himself to blame the fox for his anger.

After all, Yusuke had said that he had spilt Kurama's blood that morning too. Perhaps, in some regards, he was no better than the attacker.

"If that is how you see it than you may address me as _you_ see fit, Kurama," the hiyoukai replied just as easily as before, not looking at the kitsune but keeping his eyes on the wall. The fox's comment should have struck a lot deeper than it did; a thought that Hiei decided not to dwell on.

"You have not answered my question," Kurama ignored the privilege given to him with a cold voice.

Hiei merely shrugged once more. "Nor have I in the last twelve visits."

Kurama briefly closed his eyes in frustration before his anger could get the best of him. He did not attempt to open his mind again to the fire demon. If he did, the words that would come out would not be those that he had intended…at least on the conscious level.

Both fire demon and fox (the former slightly annoyed and the later relieved) looked up as Yusuke exited Koenma's office. A small look of surprise crossed his face when he saw Hiei, not three feet from the fox and standing perfectly still and relaxed.

Kurama looked to be on edge, but not out of nerves. Yusuke smirked slightly, more to himself than anything, as he saw the fox's hands clench and unclench, wishing for a resting place around the fire demon's throat.

"Hey, Hiei," Yusuke started calmly and good-naturedly. Unless Hiei did something wrong, he would not hold any more grudges against his ex-partner. After all, he might just need him if what Kuwabara had said held any truth. "What are you doing here?"

The fire demon gave a slight nod in his direction, though he did not answer the question presented. Yusuke did not think much of it. He had felt the fire demon around often and figured that he was both looking for information as well as judging Kurama.

Hiei's presence, therefore, was fine, though Yusuke feared only one thing. There were some things that the detective knew of, some things told to him by various people about the situation they were in, that he did not want Hiei to know.

And so he kept his mind very carefully guarded against the demon's powerful Jagan. But some things, like the notion of hiding a secret, are hard to keep unnoticeable and he did not doubt that Hiei knew there were things being kept from him.

"Kurama, the toddler wants a word with you," Yusuke mentioned, drawing out of his thoughts and glancing down at the fox. The kitsune gave a nod and stood, gathering his book bag by the strap over his shoulder and turning towards the office. Without a glance back, he stepped over the threshold and the doors closed behind him.

Yusuke immediately turned to Hiei, though the non-hostile approach was still there. "What are you doing here, Hiei?"

"I would think you'd know," the fire demon replied, his eyes still on the doors that Kurama had disappeared through.

"If you're looking for information, Hiei, go somewhere else." Yusuke plopped down in the seat that Kurama had formerly occupied. "Following Kurama is going to get you nothing but a fight."

"Perhaps that is what he needs to get back on his feet." Hiei knew the gravity of what he said, and he knew the real truth behind the statement. But, as of late, he really didn't know why he said half the things that came from his mouth anymore. They just…came out.

Yusuke's eyes narrowed dangerously as he stared almost eye-to-eye with the fire demon. When he spoke, his voice was dangerously low, "You will **_not_ **engage him in a fight, Hiei. He does not have the strength to waste on pointless squabble. Do not provoke him, or you will deal with me."

The fire demon finally turned to look at Yusuke, regarding the man rather lightly. In the end, however, he simply gave his shoulders a slight move in the form of a shrug. Yusuke seemed to relax at this, but not to his former extent.

"So why _are_ you here, again?" Yusuke asked as he stifled a yawn. He had gotten up a tad too early for this. "I mean, I know you've been tailing us for the last few days. So what's the deal?"

"You want to protect Kurama," Hiei stated and Yusuke gave an unnecessary nod even as the fire demon continued, "I want to avenge my sister. Following you will get me to my goal."

Yusuke once more regarded him with narrowed eyes, though not nearly as dangerous as before. "You will use him as bait, then?"

Hiei shrugged. "It is no different than what Koenma is doing."

Yusuke sighed, having finally come to a topic he really rather not think about. He still wasn't sure about the godling's motives, but he was beginning to fear that Hiei was right in this situation. However, it truly didn't matter. Yusuke was not going to leave the fox's side until the situation was null and void.

"And…?" Hiei turned to regard Yusuke with a raised eyebrow. The starter for a sentence was left as a question that Hiei feigned great confusion with. Yusuke rolled his eyes. "I know there is something more. In all five years you have not sought your sister's killer beyond the initial year's worth of tracking from the temple. Why now?"

Hiei was silent for several long minutes before he turned back to his junction of wall and ceiling. When he spoke, his words sent both a shiver through Yusuke as well as a small spark of buried care in the fire demon's view of Kurama.

"Though I am no longer his mate, I once was. With that trust comes theresponsibility over his well being and safety during such a time. Seeing as the date of his harm fell within the time of our relationship, the act of vengeance on his behalf still falls on my shoulders, despite the different paths we took.

"Avenging the pain placed upon him is my responsibility and I will see it done."

-o-o-o-o-

Well, how was that for a chapter? Not too shabby? I like that last line…hmm…

Of course, I know that it was mostly talk, but I tried to put some humor in there to keep you entertained. I hope it was all right.

Aww, but see, Hiei does have a heart in this story! It's just teeny weeny itsy bitsy litt-

Kit: Please stop.

Polkadotbikni!

Anyways, I hope you liked the description and "locals" of my intermediate world. The locals are sort of a mix between Tree Sprites, Bowtruckles, and Kodama (see Princess Manonoke)

Ahem, instead of Authors notes, I'm just putting up a few tidbits. About the intermediate world; it's a plain where hundreds of lost souls wander until Spirit world has found a destination for them.

In my view, one can not move on if something is left unknown or undone in life. Therefore, if you do not continue to wander on earth as a ghost, yet fall in this category, you are put in the Intermediate world.

There, you are alone in a world that is shaped as the paradise of your dreams. It is an illusion of a place, where each of the hundreds of guests see a different land and none can see each other. Only visitors and those who do not reside in the Intermediate World, can see all the others there.

Okay: Not much to say otherwise. Three days has passed since the last chapter and, in that time, Hiei has shown up twelve times (thirteen if you count the Reikai meeting.) You should have picked up that Kurama has escaped off to the woods twelve times.

Meaning: Kurama ran off to be in the woods after Hiei visited. You know, Kurama's anger only seems to be growing. And, though Youko promised to take Hiei's head, both Shuichi and Hiei have been finding little loopholes to keep him from doing it.

Shuichi still loves Hiei, as does the Youko, but he can not put the pain Hiei caused him in front of his love and he has forgiven the fire demon in a manner that Youko never will. That is why Shuichi continues to hold Youko's anger back, or tries to.

There really isn't much else to talk about…

Next chapter! A new secret comes out! Yusuke has not told Hiei about everything that happened that night. What else could he possibly have withheld!

AND AND AND! I'm not sure whether it will be _next_ chapter or the one _following_, but I will REVEAL THE IDENTIDY OF THE KILLER!

Bum-bum-bum!

Kit: …nice dramatics.

Oh shut up! Anyhoo! I hope you people liked it and I hope you stay tuned for the next chapter!

Weee!

Please review!


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer**: If you really haven't gotten it by now, perhaps you should see a doctor about a cat scan

**Notes:** Whooo-hooo, I'm on a role! A Mexican vacation was just what I needed to get the juices flowing! Weee!

I am sorry that I have not gotten to my other stories in a while, but I haven't been able to leave this one alone.

Look for more updates over Christmas; there should be plenty!

Okay, Flashback/Memory chapter.

This might help explain some things. This is the final chapter before the killer's identity is reviewed.

Yes yes, I know I said that this chapter might reveal the killer, but I didn't expect the memory chapter to be so impossibly long.

Dang. Along with that, the other thing that happened to Kurama isn't revealed either...

Double Dang.

Well...oh, shit. Sorry guys.

Oh, and by the way, this is a DREAM chapter. Enjoy.

-o-o-o-o-

_**Embrace the Winter Snow**_

_Chapter 8_

-o-o-o-o-

_Kurama was swimming in a gray haze, the colors around him were swirling whites and blacks, fading from one to the other as he rose and sunk in his restless state. _

_Pain still penetrated much of his body and he found that even simply thinking about moving his tired muscles sent riveting shots of pain down his body. His limbs felt heavy in the superficial fog and his head swam with a light and airy weight. _

_He could feel his injuries with every small wave of color that washed and lapped gently against his body. His eyes stung behind his drooping lids, half hidden from the shifting world he was aware of. _

_A dry throat plagued him with the curse of a never-ending sore as every swallow brought a thick stab of pain from the front of his throat and a less suppressed wave of agony from the rest of his neck. He couldn't tell if the injury he had sustained remained outside his body, or if the pain radiated from within his throat._

_His fingers fell heavy on the softness of the cool floor, its appearance covered in swirling colors of marble fog. The lightness of their misty depths brushed gently over his fingertips, and lapped as a puppy at his skin. _

_The pale flesh stung something awful with every twitch or jostle, and simply laying still brought about a numbness unlike any other. A quiet whispering in his ear increased as his body would turn to pins-and-needles, a silent voice etched in sinister malice._

_A voice that whispered nothingness into the air._

_Though longing not to move his aching muscles and heavy limbs, the quiet voice of a hidden hatred was soon moving his thoughts to one of waking. Raising enough strength to rally his motivation, Kurama slowly attempted to open his eyes._

_At first he was greeted with nothing, just an eerie blackness that continued to surround him beyond that of his unconsciousness. But as he focused his forest green eyes, a world slowly began to form around him. _

_It was a world of white snow._

_A pine was dipped low with the weight of its bending branches, several feet of glistening powder newly laid upon its bark. The sky was clearing, a pale blue of clear expanse except for the small white puffs of cloud that promised snow for a later time._

_Attempting to see more of his surroundings, he bit his tongue as he gently moved his eyes to the side. Pain lanced through his head from his clogged mind and more of the foggy after-haze of sleep was brought to a burning end._

_The world of white snow did indeed end, and not a foot from where it had begun. The edge of the window frame cut off any more to see of the crystalline white and Kurama slowly blinked his eyes. _

_He was in Genkai's temple, a spare room in Genkai's temple, to be more precise. But it wasn't the room he normally took for his own…and it wasn't the one he had fallen asleep in last night._

_A small frown caressed Kurama's face, bringing awareness to three long cuts that ran perpendicular to his right eye and ended at his collarbone. Unsure of how they got there, or how he got there, the fox deduced that he must have been in a recent battle; most likely one of the missions Koenma occasionally sent the tentai on. _

_But if that were the case…who was their opponent and…what had happened, exactly?_

_Kurama blinked once more, eyes drawing up to the ceiling of intricately carved wooden beams and slanted planks. He couldn't quite recall much of what had happened, nor what day it was, nor how long he had been asleep. _

_He tried to sit up, to see what injuries he had possibly sustained. Although his body had been numb, and therefore he hadn't thought much of how seriously he could be injured, his body froze up in rigid pain as he attempted to rise._

_First was his strength, sapped so low that he struggled to raise his upper torso off the futon he lay on. His stomach muscles alone ached as if he had gone through a day's workout without rest. And that was only his muscles._

_The rest of his stomach was a separate manner._

_His forest green eyes widened exponentially and his jaw clamped down tightly on his tongue, forcing himself not to scream in agony as pain shot from his midsection._

_One wound, which he had failed to notice due to the tingling nothingness of his numb body, was located in his abdomen, just above his lower regions. Though he couldn't quite ascertain what sort of wound it was, he knew it was serious._

_Pain shot from his skin and muscles, a feeling of torn muscle and ligament, organs protesting in aching soreness. His skin rippled in agony and protest to his movement and he could feel a seeping liquid bubbling over shredded flesh kept together only by the gauze wrapped tightly around it, already beginning to tint red._

_The second wound of his midsection came from his chest, where a much deeper burn had sent his body into spasms and his lungs gaping wide for oxygen. It, too, seemed similar to the burning of his first wound and he knew that they had been made by the same weapon. _

_His ribs were aching as if under the pressure of crushing rocks and pain stabbed from the muscles that held them strong. Once more was the feeling of torn ligament and flesh, shredded edges seeped in blood. Shoots of stinging lightning radiated up his nerves to wrap around his chest and squeeze his tormented upper torso even more. _

_With a small gasp he couldn't contain, or might have simply bitten **through** his tongue had he tried, he raised a sore and tired arm to press his palm flat over the wound, gently applying pressure._

_Why were his wounds open? Had he not been healed? If he were at Genkai's temple, and proof of that was both in his surroundings as well as the manner of his wrapped wounds, would they not have healed any wounds he had sustained._

_Surely Genkai or Yukina would have-_

_Kurama froze, his eyes going wide. A scream._

_He remembered a scream. The hand gently applying pressure to his wound began grasping at his wrapped skin as his breathing increased. He slowly moved his hand up to his heart as pain arced across his entire chest._

_No. It couldn't be real. No. Just…no! _

_He remembered falling asleep at the temple, no thought nor concern given to their safety. Genkai would remain awake for some time longer, drinking her tea and muttering to herself about her disrespectful delinquent of a student._

_And he would always wake to the smallest signal of ki, even hidden beneath the layers of well-trained auras that so many higher demons possessed. If it were not friend, Kurama would immediately know of its nearing presence._

_And so would Yukina, sleeping soundly across the temple._

_So he laid his head to sleep and never thought more of any danger that might be approaching. _

_And next he knew, he'd awoken to a distant scream._

_Kurama closed his eyes against tears that threatened to fall from his thick eyelashes as the memories continued to slide-show across his mind. Frame after frame, fear cut deep in his mind and pain flashed through his body. _

_His grip over his chest tightened until it faltered and he found himself heaving breaths as panic slowly overwhelmed his mind._

_It couldn't be real; it hadn't happened. _

_There was no way! There was an explanation, there had to be! Something…anything!_

_Kurama's stroll down memory lane was cut short by movement outside his door. His head snapped to the right, an action he later regretted as he became aware of his third and final injury._

_A wound to the neck, sustained by the edge of a blade as he unwillingly recalled with a horror filled mind, now kept his head somewhat immobile. The skin pulled tight with his sudden movement and a whimper tried to escape his mouth as he felt the flesh tear apart, piece by piece, as strands of cloth might. Fresh blood seeped through the fresh wound to dot white bandages and pain coursed its way through his nervous system._

_However, he had failed to notice the second half of any of these things, as his attention was ripped away cruelly. _

_There had been absolutely no noise. The room remained perfectly silent and devoid of sound but for the soft movement of fabric caused by his weight on the futon._

_And yet, he knew that he had not been able to stop the whimper that fought its way through at the opening of his wound._

_Kurama's eyes widened as his throat began pounding anew, fresh pain scouring his neck until his insides and outsides felt raw and bleeding. With a fearful notion and an understanding he wished not to have, the fox opened his mouth and screamed._

_And the silence that followed only brought on more screaming until the noise suddenly opened in full, resounding around the room in echoes and waves, crashing upon his already burning skull and pounding brain._

_And he continued screaming, clenching at his slender, bandaged neck in open agony as he doubled over on himself, forehead pressing against the cool wooden floor._

_The door to his room was open in seconds, slammed aside on its sliding track as Yusuke burst into the room, followed shortly after by Genkai. Kurama backed away from them out of mere shock and fright. He struggled as Yusuke grabbed a hold on his shoulders, attempting to force him back onto the comfort of the futon._

_Genkai was trying to aide him in rendering the fox harmless to both newcomers as well as himself. She grabbed a hold of Kurama's feet as he tried to kick Yusuke away from him._

_And all the while his mouth was open in a silent scream._

_The raven-haired detective's head was about to split in two from the resounding screaming that continued within his mind, the after-wave of emotion that accompanied it sending him all but flying across the room with each scream._

_Yet he managed to get a grip on Kurama and shake him from his fear, forcing him to calm down even as his mental voice cracked and broke, disappearing in a bubbling of despair and a wail of agony._

_Breathing heavily, Yusuke slowly pushed Kurama back down to the bed, forcing him beneath the covers as the fox went limp in his arms._

_"Kurama?" the teen asked fearfully. He knew what had happened, as Genkai had earlier prepared him for the most likely result of his injuries. She had warned him of the likelihood of a reaction from the fox, as well._

_And yet he had not been prepared for the terror and distress in Kurama's forest green eyes._

_The fox looked up with wide, frightened eyes as Yusuke held his arms away from his body, keeping his fisted hands tightly clenched for both of their safeties. _

_Kurama opened his mouth to speak but nothing came. He quickly shut his eyes against the world, swallowing hard despite the pain it caused him. Yusuke gently released his arms and bent down, scooping him silently into a form of a hug. _

_The fox kept his eyes closed quietly against the detective's chest even as Yusuke quietly whispered words to soothe his nerves. Genkai silently moved around him, bringing a cup to his lips as Yusuke pulled away some. The fox refused the drink, ending in Genkai all but forcing it down the kitsune's raw throat. _

_It stung greatly on the way down, the greatest source of pain located at the front of his throat, where he knew the sharp blade had pierced straight through. His breathing came in gasps as it passed and he quickly shut his eyes, squeezing his eyelids closed so that no light would come through. _

_He once more felt arms wrap around him, lending quiet strength. _

_A strength he feared he might never again feel._

_"Kurama?" Yusuke was once more calling gently to him and he silently braced himself for an impact of emotional pain as he slowly opened his emerald eyes._

_Yusuke was surprised to see them devoid of most emotion, and clear of any tears. Quickly overcoming his surprise, he gently held Kurama at arms length, a hand on either shoulder._

_"What do you remember?" Yusuke asked very softly as he watched for a negative reaction from the fox. Kurama frowned slightly as he opened his mouth to answer..._

_...and closed it once more as he realized that nothing would come out._

_Panic once more rose in his pounding mind and he fought it back down as bile rose in his throat. He would not let this best him. Shoving his fear back down, he closed his eyes once more, breathing deep._

_There was a long pause of him watching Yusuke through half-lidded eyes, thinking of how to answer without his voice, before Genkai suddenly tapped Yusuke on the shoulder with something. He turned around, surprised, to see a notepad in her hand._

_Taking it, and the pencil she held in the other, he gave it to Kurama. The fox, frowning greatly in distress and rising panic, gently took it in his hands. He gave a brief, unsure look at Yusuke, before placing the tip of the pencil against the paper._

_**Yukina. Is she…?**_

_Yusuke looked up from the message he had received and Kurama immediately knew his answer. The force it took to hold back tears was evident in the detective's watery eyes and Kurama could only turn his head gently away, looking off into the distance as he kept his own tears at bay._

_It was his fault._

_Amid his physical pain and his mental panic, a new emotional hurt arose. He had not been able to protect one so close to himself. He blinked back tears, unwilling to let them fall._

_The fox turned slightly as Yusuke gently eased his chin back in the direction of him and Genkai. Kurama allowed the motion but could not lock eyes with the detective as the pad was handed back to him._

_"What do you remember?"_

_Kurama paused for a long time in his answer. Slowly, he drew his hand up and down to form the symbols that he was so unsure of. _

_**I remember everything.**_

_But before he could hand the paper back to Yusuke, unsure of how much he could bring himself to admit and how much he could even tell the detective out of his own pain, a scream echoed through the temple._

_It was the scream of one who has lost everything close to him in a single swift motion of agony. _

_Yusuke suddenly reeled at the onslaught of emotion that slammed into his unsuspecting mind. His eyes drew shut in clenched eyelids and his face screwed up in a pained wince._

_An overwhelming wave of terror and anguish slashed at his mind like a fiery whip. So thick was the foggy haze of dread and horror that Yusuke found himself drudging through his own subconscious just to surface once more and open his eyes._

_He glanced at Genkai to see the same reaction. The old master was staring at Kurama in a mixture of sympathy and shock._

_Turning to glance out the window towards the center of the echoing scream, Yusuke began to rise when a hand suddenly grasped at his arm. The grip was so tight that fingernails dug past his skin and neared blood._

_The raven-haired detective looked down at Kurama, eyes so wide and so thick with fear that Yusuke was afraid the fox might have another panic attack and go off in a tirade of screaming once more._

_Still having the immense headache from the last one, he knelt down and gently pulled Kurama up with him. The fox gave a silent moan, which only furthered his agony in his own remembrance of his lost voice, even as pain lanced up and down his body. _

_Yusuke glanced over at Genkai who gave him a steady look of approval and moved on Kurama's other side to support him should he need it. Though he shook off her hand, still remaining polite as always in his hurt, she remained next to him as Yusuke slowly started towards the door._

_It was a slow trip to the outside of the temple, one taken step by step and always concealed in hidden pain in Kurama's case. But slowly, the three made it outside, stepping out onto the porch that was lightly dusted with snow._

_There was no longer an ice maiden to sweep the night's fallen powder from the wooden porch or temple walkways._

_Then, suddenly, Kurama would go no further. He resisted the gentle pull Yusuke had been administering the entire time and he braced his feet. Like a child no longer cooperating and about to throw a tantrum, he pulled against Yusuke's own steady tug and the detective turned around, surprised._

_But the fox's eyes were not focused on him. Jade eyes were locked on a solid black form at the edge of the temple's garden. _

_Hiei sat, kneeling in the light powder that covered the two feet of hardened snow. Before him, freshly dug and placed, was a small marker for a gravestone, a temporary one made of tree branches and rings of flowers. Erected by Kuwabara, the grave would be properly marked come early spring, when the ground thawed enough to plant a gravestone that would stay._

_The fire demon's arms were limp at his sides, hanging in the cold snow and his hands were gripped in fists. His head was bowed and almost touched the white scarf that wrapped tightly around his neck and chest._

_Kurama was shaking visibly by now and Yusuke was suddenly fearful of the kitsune's terrified expression, though he knew why the kitsune feared. _

_Hiei would most likely hold him responsible for his sister's protection. Protection that failed to save her life. And if her protector remained living while she lay dead, the fire demon would hold her unprotected._

_But Yusuke knew the youkai. If the entire story were explained, if everything was laid out, Hiei wouldn't hold Kurama accountable. After all, Kurama could not have protected Yukina after being pinned to the floor by two swords. _

_Hiei's body went rigid, however, before Yusuke could even so much as jump from the porch. Standing in stiff posture and unbending legs, he turned sharply towards them and began walking slowly through the new snowdrift. _

_Yusuke paused with a frown at the edge of the porch, Kurama having long ago let go of his hand when he made it clear he was going to approach the fire demon. The fox was now pressed back against the temple wall, his body almost shaking._

_"Hiei, wai-" Yusuke was suddenly cut off as Hiei jumped onto the platform in the blink of an eye and slammed a hand into the teen's chest. The detective's eyes widened as he went flying back, quickly catching himself and balancing on his feet to come to a skidding to a halt. _

_The fire demon paid no attention as he approached Kurama, who was now quaking under the glare the fire demon was emitting. Though his eyes had not yet made contact with any, staying instead on the ground, heat radiated off him in screaming anger and the fury of his glare on the wood made it all but steam in the heat of is anger._

_Kurama whimpered, though none heard, as he watched his lover approach him. As the burning demon drew within a foot, the fox suddenly found an arm extended in front of him, protecting him from his lover's wrath._

_"Perhaps you should hear the rest of the events that unfolded last night, Hiei." Genkai was standing next to Kurama, her hand extended between the two, a cigarette held in the other. "I'm sure Kuwabara told you of Yukina, but there is more to know than tha-"_

_"Get out of my way, Genkai." Both master and fox froze at the sound of Hiei's words. Not only had he addressed her by her name, as was never his style, it was unemotional and masked as steel, yet seething in its anger and loss. Genkai quickly blinked back her surprise at the level of Hiei's sudden coldness and took a small drag of smoke from her cigarette._

_"Are you going to kill me if I don't?" Genkai asked with a small smirk. The fire demon slowly turned his gaze to her, a look enough to burn through skin and bone, and set his glare determined on her tiny frame._

_"Get. Out. Of my. Way." Hiei raised his arm and suddenly clenched his small fingers around her thin wrist. Surprised but not in any form of panic, she watched as her skin began to boil underneath his burning grip, blisters forming and skin beginning to turn raw. Her face did not change as he met his eyes calmly, keeping back her pain._

_'Stop it!' Both Genkai and Hiei reeled at the sudden noise (and accompanying pain that lanced through their brains) and the grip between them broke. The fire demon spun at the sound of Kurama's voice, though Yusuke, who had been about to tackle him but was thrown off my the mental onslaught, knew he had not yet noticed the mental aspect to the sound._

_"Hiei, don't!" The detective stumbled back to his feet, clutching gently at his head, which was pounding with twice the fury as before._

_But it was too late. Kurama backed against the temple wall once more as Hiei appeared directly in front of him, having taken the last step in the blink of an eye. The fox's eyes widen as a hand latched out and grabbed his already injured neck._

_He gasped as pain suddenly shot down his spine and through his chest. His jaw ached from the spasm his own body was trying to put it through and he found swallowing more difficult, though the clenching hand around his windpipe did not lend aid to the cause._

_His long, slender fingers wrapped around Hiei's hand as the white gauze about his throat wound was burned to ashes. He opened his mouth in a silent scream as his wound began to cauterize and his skin bubbled and burned, blistering in the extreme heat._

_"You gave her life to protect your own!" Hiei's scream ricocheted off the walls of the temple, speeding through the forest to scare the birds into flight. Yusuke grabbed for Hiei's arm but the fire demon spun, throwing Kurama off the porch and disappearing before the detective's drawn punch could hit him._

_The fox landed hard on the snowy ground, rolling several feet as his newly burned wound split open once more, his raw, bleeding skin adding to the red liquid that was flung over sparkling white snow. _

_The pattern was one of pain, a continuous splatter of blood drawn several feet and ending in a small puddle forming beneath the constant drip off his skin. Kurama curled in on his stomach, the landing have jarred his other wounds close to the breaking point._

_A grunt brought his clenched eyes wide open as he found himself staring at Hiei's boots. His mouth opened in a short, silent scream, one he kept mentally silent as well, as Hiei's hand enclosed around his wrist and he pulled the fox to his feet._

_Kurama felt the skin of his wounds tear once more apart as his skin was stretched with the pulled movement and rivets of pain washed through his body, which was beginning to numb as his vision darkened._

_"I trusted you to protect her! You're the reason she's dead!" Hiei screamed, blind fury driving his thoughts and agonizing loss clouding his eyes. He threw Kurama to the side as Yusuke grabbed the fire demon's arm and spun him around._

_Hiei stumbled back as a fist was suddenly introduced to his face. He remained standing, balancing himself as he skidded backwards. Wiping a trickle of blood from his lips and chin, he regarded Yusuke with glowing crimson eyes._

_But before he could even open his mouth to warn the detective to stay out of it, his eyes widened. Yusuke had dropped his defensive stance and slowly, agonizingly, raised his arms until his hands formed the shape of a gun. Hiei, suddenly awoken from his stupor, stared at the detective in shock._

_"Get out of here, Hiei." Yusuke's voice was cold and icy but his emotion was thick and the lump in his throat was evident in his tone. He was on the verge of hesitation. _

_He did not want to harm the youkai…but he was going to end up killing Kurama._

_Hiei had lost his mind within his own grief. _

_The fire demon's jaw clenched and his hands fisted. He opened his mouth to retort, to once more try to tell Yusuke to stay out of the affairs of demon mates._

_But Yusuke would not have it. He steadied his arm as a small glowing ball of light formed at his fingertip. "I told you to get out of here, Hiei.'"_

_The fire demon stared in shock at Yusuke. Unbidden, a feeling of betrayal shortly washed over him before anger filled the empty feeling that was brought with it. _

_His agonized loss and new anger blinded his eyes to the truth of the matter and his fisted hands brought blood from his palms and he regarded Yusuke through betrayed eyes._

_Turning without a glance to the kitsune slightly to his left and laying in the icy snow, blood gathering around his neck, Hiei disappeared in a displace of air, leaving a single whisper behind. _

_A whisper that did not escape the ears of the suffering fox._

_"Her death is by your hand, Kurama."_

_Yusuke slowly lowered his hands with an audible sigh. Then, without a second thought to the fire demon, he turned and ran towards the collapsed kitsune._

_He all but dove to his knees beside the kitsune, sending a splay of snow and powder around the two of them, but he paid it no heed. Gently bending down, he scooped Kurama's upper body out of the snow, pulling it towards his chest in an attempt to warm the injured body. _

_The fox's body was convulsing under his hands and it took several long moments of panicky confusion before Yusuke realized what was causing them._

_Kurama was heaving dry sobs into the snow, the once-white substance clenched in his hands, turning his pale flesh red with his own blood. His chest was struggling to keep up with the gasps of air his injured body was demanding._

_"It's okay Kurama..." Yusuke whispered as he tried to stop the bleeding at his neck. Genkai was beside him within seconds, attempting to do the same for the other two wounds._

_A shout from the left side of the temple warned the two that Kuwabara was coming, running at full speed towards the three of them._

_The raven-haired detective, with Kurama against his chest, saw a single tear roll down his tightly clenched eyes. The crystal liquid, iridescent in the morning light, rolled down a blood-smeared cheek, tainting the pure liquid red with malice and hate. _

_As it fell from his face, it splashed onto the snow beside them, creating a moment of clear white amid the red liquid against the snow. Yusuke watched in silence as the crimson liquid swallowed up the tear, closing away the last bit of pure color amid the morning snow._

_That tear held all the loss there was in the world, and so much more. It held the pain, sorrow, and despair that were beginning to overwhelm the kitsune's soul. It held everything the fox could no longer hold within him._

_It held everything he no longer wished to hold. And within it, buried deep within the hurt and misery, was portrayed a single sentence, written in crimson liquid upon white snow._

_"Her death is by your hand, Kurama."_

-o-o-o-o-

And, it's done! Well, the memory chapter at least. Well, I hope you enjoyed it. It was a blast to write. Though, I am having issues with consistencies. I hope I didn't leave anything out. See, I don't have the fifth chapter on this computer.

The chapter with all the explanation (of course, Murphy willing 8D) was on my other computer. So I really don't know all that I said in that chapter. But I'll try to double check before I post this.

There aren't any author's notes (again) but I feel I need to explain one thing.

Hiei has all but lost it. He's insane with his grief and acting on complete impulse. Were he to hear the whole story or even just stop and think it through for five minutes, he'd realize that it wasn't fully Kurama's fault. And if he'd heard the story, he'd know it wasn't at all his fault.

But then, where would we be?

Without a story, that's where.

So it might seem out of character, but it is because he is so lost in anger and grief that he just want's a reason for the sudden death of his sister.

And the closest thing happened to be Kurama.

Anyways...

Have a great one and please review!

OH! And yes, the Killer is Revealed NEXT CHAPTER! It's already planned out.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer**: Yu Yu Hakusho's not miiiine, la la la la-la la la la! I own nothing, it's nooothing neeeew, la la la la la la-la la!

Kit: …you are such a freak.

**Notes**: Don't you love Winter break? It means more time to write!

Aaaaaaaand that has basically nothing to do with this story so…why is it under Notes?

-o-o-o-o-

_**Embrace the Winter Snow**_

_Chapter 9_

-o-o-o-o-

Hiei was sitting quietly in the garden of the temple, the snow having built around him a bit in the night's fall. He had remained stoic, sword against his chest, for the last nine hours, facing Kurama's window. There had been no movement within for hours.

The fire demon was about to give up when he saw Kurama move before the window, rubbing his eyes and pushing his ruffled hair out of his face. Hiei was surprised at how late the fox had slept; it was almost ten, judging by the sun.

As soon as the fox had left his room, however, Hiei found himself sitting in front of a rather annoyed Yusuke. The detective had appeared in front of Hiei with his demonic speed, looking rather angry and had his arms crossed over his chest.

"I thought I told you to find your information somewhere else, Hiei," Yusuke began in a taut voice. The fire demon looked up at him.

"You did."

Yusuke growled at the reply, as it did nothing but provoke his anger. "Hiei, I don't want you constantly around Kurama. From what you said yesterday, you mean him no harm, but he doesn't know that. You're causing him constant worry. He. Can't. Sense. You. What part of that do you not understand? It's making him so unsettled that he's losing sleep!"

Yusuke didn't stop once to think that he shouldn't probably be saying any of that to the fire demon, or that Kurama might not want it known. He simply wanted to make it obvious to the fire demon that his presence was a nuisance.

It was one of his bigger slip-ups.

Hiei locked the information away for later even as he raised an eyebrow. "Why should I make him nervous? I already told you I am not here to do anything to him."

Yusuke, who had now noticed his slip-up and closed his eyes in irritation, gave an exasperated sigh. "Kurama doesn't know that and, despite what I've tried to tell him, he no longer trusts you. Why? I can't imagine." Hiei ignored the sarcasm dripping off the last sentence. "But I don't want you around here if it's going to hurt him so much."

Hiei stared for a long time at Yusuke before he stood up and vanished in the blink of an eye. Yusuke gave a long sigh before he turned and started towards the temple stairs. No matter what he did, he always seemed to upset one of his friends.

And he failed to notice that Hiei had relocated not ten feet away on the roof.

-o-o-o-o-

Genkai and Tekara were silently sipping at their tea when Kurama came into the room, a blanket wrapped around his lithe, clothed form. The sun was gaining on the sky as it neared noon. Both woman looked up, Tekara setting down her cup with a loud clink.

"You're up, sleepyhead!" she cried happily, climbing to her feet. Kurama spared a small smile for her as she grabbed the teakettle and ran into the other hallway, obviously going to make more tea.

He gave an amused raise of his eyebrow towards Genkai as he slid down to the knee high table. Genkai only snorted as she took another long sip of her tea. After the long silence, broken only by the slight slurp in Genkai's drinking and the occasional crash or yelp from the kitchen, Kurama raised his hands slowly.

'_Where's Yusuke?_' Genkai set her cup down gently after she had watched his gestures over the rim.

"He left for something or another at his house. Until he gets back, you're stuck with me as a bodyguard. Now aren't you a lucky fox?" she replied and Kurama gave a partial, mischievous smirk.

Another crash resounded from the kitchen, followed by a yelp, and finally a frantically yelled, "I'm all right!"

"She's a handful," the old master breathed out in a sigh as the din died down, her voice dancing with amusement. Kurama glanced towards the door where Tekara had disappeared. Raising an eyebrow once more, he looked back to the aged master.

Genkai gave a light smirk. "I wanted laughter to once more fill the temple. What I got was a five year old."

Kurama gave a gentle smile and lifted his hands. Genkai watched over the rim of her glass once more before she nodded, lowering the glass.

"Yes, yes, I _did_ invite her. Keep laughing, Fox-boy, and I'll send her to live with you." Genkai finished off what was left of her tea.

The fox couldn't help the smile at that but his light chuckled ceased. The two were content to furthermore sit in silence until Tekara returned with a cup for Kurama and another kettle of steaming water.

As the demon sat down, pouring all three of them tea, Genkai glanced at Kurama. His hair, as she had earlier noticed, was neatly combed and held back in a loose ponytail, though it seemed awfully dull and its sheen was gone. His bright green eyes seemed a little duller and there were circles forming under them.

"Nightmares?"

Kurama dropped his cup, though his quick reflexes stopped it from tipping when it hit the table. Genkai noted that his hand shook as he released it, white knuckled.

"Do you want drugs to help you sleep?" Kurama's eyes were locked on the tea that sat on the table and he did not answer for some time. After several minutes, he slowly shook his head.

He would not run away any longer.

Tekara, who seemed oblivious of that entire conversation, looked up and blinked. "Kurama, you look tired. You should go back to sleep!"

Kurama looked at her, surprised but used to her obliviousness on previous subjects of discussion, and gave a weak smile. With a shake of his head, he glanced away.

The young demon, however, didn't seem to notice his attempt to end the conversation. "You'll feel better if you sleep some more…Besides," her voice lowered, becoming little more than a whisper, "the nightmares only come at night."

Kurama's eyes widened and he whipped his head to look at the demon, but Tekara was humming to herself and pouring more tea for herself and Genkai. The old master was acting as calm as always, sipping her tea.

Kurama had to pause to wonder if he had heard her at all, or if it was his mere imagination in overdrive due to his lack of sleep.

He did not know much of the healer before him. She came from the eastern mountains where she had grown up a basically wretched life, though he didn't know the details and what he did know, he had learned from Genkai.

Apparently she had been sold to the demon slave market as a child when her parents were killed (though he didn't know how.) While in the custody of her first two masters as well as the slave caravans, she had learned the art of healing through necessity and none too correctly, finding her own ways of healing with _whatever_ was available.

In the household of her third master, who eventually set her free, she was taught the norm for her healing, but never converted, choosing instead to mix the correct way and her spontaneous ability to use whatever was on hand.

And how, through all that, she had maintained a child like outlook on the world was beyond anyone to figure out.

The biggest rumor at the moment, though there really wasn't a rumor mill and more like a lack of information mill, was that she had become schizophrenic through necessity and had coined a childish conscience to counter the realities of her imprisonment.

Of course, that was completely unlikely as no one had ever seen this "true side" of her. Hence the rumor component attached. And that was about all he knew, which was little for the fact that he had known her closely now for five years.

The fox glanced once more towards the healer. Tekara was still humming happily to herself.

-o-o-o-o-

Kurama had quietly snuck out of the temple, his white lie of wanting to take a nap the only thing that got Tekara away from him. As he climbed out of his window, he jumped quietly to the white floor beneath him and took off towards the woods, slipping easily into them.

He gave a relieved sigh as he took to the back of a tree, out of the line of sight from the temple. Away from his prison and security guard, he relished in the freedom of the forest and he pressed the back of his head against the bark of the tree.

With glee in his eye and a childish smile, he pushed off the tree and began running and leaping further into the forest. Through the beautiful scenery of snowy greens, he jumped over logs and dodged trees and ducked branches.

He was a fox free in the woods.

His Youko self warned him long before the trees did and all of what he already knew and he slowed down as he neared a large oak tree that reached high into the sky. He turned and leaned against it, looking into the surrounding forest with scanning, knowledgeable eyes.

"Come, Hiei," he called suddenly into the woods, his mental voice much deeper than normal. "I believe my death is in your eyes, so come."

The fire demon stepped forward from the trees he had been hiding behind. He came only a few steps, the minimal amount necessary to clear the tree and become visible to the fox's eyes.

Kurama smiled, the gesture triumphant but cold, and very much a youko attribute. Hiei shivered slightly at that look, perhaps because he had never truly had something so…sadomasochistic aimed at him from the legendary kitsune.

"Come, Hiei, that is not nearly close enough to exact you revenge. After all, aren't you here for that '_last round_'?" The kitsune's voice was icy as he said the last two words and his smile had dropped to a menacing scowl.

Hiei, however, did not respond like one normally wound when someone is trying to get a rise out of them. He raised an eyebrow to demonstrate his lack of interest and something else…confusion? When Kurama's expression did not change, the fire demon frowned in obvious perplexity.

"Kurama, I do not know what you speak of, so if you expect an answer you will want to explain you words," he said in an uncharacteristic way for him. His voice was slightly agitated at not knowing what he was supposedly supposed to know but it was otherwise soft and surprisingly quiet.

Kurama had been expecting anger or leering.

The fox's scowl became deeper and it grew in anger and malice. When he spoke, his voice was harsh and had lost all of its human attribute. The fox was no longer Kurama, but solely Youko, Shuichi was now buried deep inside.

"We are alone, Hiei. Did you think I spent what little energy I have left sneaking out of that prison just for someone to follow me? You think I came out here for my _health_?" By now, Kurama's eyes were ablaze with unspoken anger and Hiei found fighting off the mental headache that came with it a more difficult challenge. But keeping up with what the fox was saying was proving even harder, as Hiei found himself bewildered at what the kitsune was pertaining to.

"Kurama, I-" but the fire demon was cut off as Kurama stood before him, in all his glorious anger, with fire blaring in his emerald eyes, soaked through with flakes of gold.

"I came out here, Hiei, to finish this. I warned you not to come around again, that I would not stand for it any longer." The youko raised a hand to his chest, signifying himself. "I will stay quite no more, fire demon. Shuichi has done as you ordered; he has not breathed a word to any living soul. He has suffered in silence and yet you came back to do more pain unto him _and_ me.

"And so, here we stand, hiyoukai. I will not watch him get hurt again and I will not stand by and listen to his pain, but do nothing under his pleading. He may still love you, fire demon, but my feelings diminish each day. Whatever love I once felt is all but gone, replaced with my anger and his pain.

"So come, Hiei, and let us finish it. I will see us both dead before you lay another finger on Shuichi." Youko dropped to a defensive stance, his hands out before him.

This was actually amusing to the fire demon for a dull moment. Kurama did not fight hand to hand; it was practically unheard of.

Hiei, whose expression did not alter any despite the humor he saw in the fox's stance, gave an annoyed scowl. His voice, when he spoke, was almost exasperated, "What do you plan to do, Kurama, fight me with no energy?"

"I have no other weapon, fire demon, so come." Hiei frowned at these words. The fox was not joking, nor did his voice hold any significance of his lack of seriousness. The kitsune was ready to fight to the death and, with no energy, that would not take very long.

"Stop this foolishness, Kurama. You can not fight me and you know it," Hiei replied angrily, his own patience wearing out on the fox's ridiculous proposal. "And besides, even if you could fight properly, I wouldn't take your challenge."

"Oh?" Youko sneered, remaining in his fighting stance. "That's right, hiyoukai, you'd rather take me lying down."

"Wh-what?" Hiei had completely frozen at these words.

They couldn't mean what he thought they meant, could they? When had he- no, never! He hadn't - wouldn't! Yes, he had once loved Kurama (still did, as he admitted to himself that long night in the woods after Yusuke had left) but he never would have... and those words certainly did not pertain to what the two had so often partaken in.

"Kurama, what are you talking about!" he shouted out in a defensive voice. Had the kitsune lost his mind!

"God fucking damn it, Hiei!" the youko shouted only, this time, Hiei could hear traces of Shuichi's human voice barely audible among the tones; he had once more awoken. "We are alone, completely surrounded by nothing more than trees. Do you still seek to torment me with your lies?"

Hiei frowned, but not in anger or defense. He was growing even more confused; what did having to be alone do with what the fox was _accusing _him of? "Kurama, I do not under-"

"Give it up, Hiei!" The shout echoed through the entire woods, the anger surrounding and repeating all around them. The fire demon actually flinched as he stood before that rage. Youko stood tall, arms at his sides clenched in fists. "Quit your innocent act! Stop hiding from your own crimes! Do you honestly think I would forget, or convince myself that it wasn't you!"

"What?" Hiei asked, his voice suddenly shaking. The fox shook his head and blinked his eyes. Shuichi was coming back to the surface, Hiei could tell as Kurama found himself trying to blink back tears.

None fell as they stood in the snow.

"I honestly can't believe you," the voice was much softer now and held more pain and sorrow than anger. And…there was something else in that voice. It sounded as if Kurama had given up, but what, Hiei didn't know.

And then it was gone. When next he spoke, Kurama's words were icier than Hiei had ever heard. Youko was in full control and, this time, it looked like it was voluntarily. Shuichi was gone for good now, burrowing himself deeper within his subconscious until Youko would once more summon him.

"If you will not fight me on your own, I will make you," the youko started coldly, his fists shaking at his sides. Hiei had to resist the urge to snort; he would not attack Kurama, no matter what the fox did.

"After all," the youko began again, his voice sly and painfully sharp, "you fought me that morning. Of course, you used Shuichi's weakness in the pain that you caused him to turn it more into a beating. So why not take up what you started, hiyoukai? If you are going to blame us for your own crime, why not finish what you started?"

Hiei had remained frozen, his body going tense under the words. The crime that…he did? The fire demon's eyes widened angrily at this.

But Youko was not finished. "Blaming us for her death wasn't enough, was it? It just doesn't suit your hunger, does it? Why not have at it, fire demon? I am all but defenseless and can do so little against you. Come, kill me." Hiei's ears were ringing with all the accusations bouncing around in the Youko's words and he felt himself drowning in a mix of anger at the fox's voice.

"After all, fire demon, killing me would only finish the chore, wouldn't it? First your sister, than your enemy…Aren't I next on your li-"

Youko never finished his sentence as a punch sent him tumbling to the snowy forest floor some ten feet away. His lowest abdominal wound tore open at the impact sending blood spattering against his clothing, but he only smiled. Climbing to his feet with his hand over his abdomen, he grinned at Hiei, looking much like one who had lost their mind.

Hiei stood, anger blaring in his eyes and fist outstretched where he stood. His jaw was clamped tight and his mind lost to its red fog of anger and hate. Kurama walked back over to him slowly, a bruise already beginning to form along his jaw and cheekbone, a small slit underneath his eye already bleeding.

"Oooh," he bantered in a sneering tone as he leered at the fire demon before him, watching him with blood-thirsty eyes. "That was good, hiyoukai, but you can do better. Wouldn't you like to use that sword of yours?"

Hiei suddenly blinked, staring at the youko. His sword? He glanced down at the offending metal and all the haze that had previously blocked his judgment disappeared.

He had lost it; just as he did the morning after Yukina died. He had lost his control over his own anger and had attacked the person closest to him in both the physical sense and the emotional sense.

Hiei stumbled back, away from the youko as he shook his head clear. "No…no! I'm not going to attack you, Kurama. Why are you trying so hard to get me to kill you?"

Kurama's expression had gone lax, and he stood, staring at the fire demon with a blankness that scared the youkai. It was as if his face had lost all emotion and turned as white as a television when it is no longer in service.

There was nothing there; no spark, no emotion, no life.

"Because you have already raped me, Hiei. What more is there for you to give me but death?"

The sentence hit Hiei like a slap to the face and the only thing he could think to do was act on instinct, and his forbidden-born instinct was telling him to run.

Run as far away as he could from those empty green eyes.

-o-o-o-o-

Yusuke was quickly packing an assortment of clothing into his duffle bag, anxious to get back to the temple. Something wasn't right; he could feel it in his heart.

He shoved the things he needed (shirts, pants, underwear, so on and so forth) into the bag in great haste until it was, for the most part, full. He only needed a few more things to grab and shove in.

As he did so, he felt an energy drawing near: a familiar energy. With an annoyed growl, he zipped the bag closed even as soft footfalls sounded by his window.

However, as Yusuke turned around for an angry growl to get his information elsewhere, the detective was met with the very sharp end of a sword, placed at the soft flesh of his neck.

"Hiei…"

-o-o-o-o-

Mwahahahahahahahaha—cough- haha—choke—ha-h-help—choke-!

Weeee, that was soooo much fun!

Yep, Hiei is the KILLER!

ducks from pots and pans and…a chicken? Who the hell threw the **chicken**!

Now hold on, hold on! That is NOT the twist! You might think that is, but it really isn't a twist at all, that would just be a mystery.

The twist should be somewhat easier to see now, though not really, so…yeah.

Mwuahaha-choke- okay, enough of that already!

So, you have ONE MORE CHANCE to guess the twist! And KyoHana, your guess doesn't count!

8D

Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed it. I personally hate this chapter, but, hey! Who knows?

(P.S. If you didn't notice: no author notes this time; too lazy!)

Kurama warns Hiei (fully Youko) to kill him now because he won't hesitate to do it first, Hiei's confused and finds out that Kurama thinks he raped him.

Yusuke at house, finds sword at his neck, turns and says "hiei"


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer**: I don't own shit.

**Note: **Sorry this has taken so long guys. I hit not a writer's block, but a lack of motivation; a lack of urge to write. I don't know, I've been real tired lately. Then again, I've also been really rushed and extremely busy, so it's understandable to a point. Anyways, no more excuses! Sorry, and sorry, and you have KyoHana's story-slut skills to thank for me actually getting this out.

**Review Responses**: Alright, someone mentioned that they were confused if Hiei had run away from Kurama. Of course, I can't remember who it was and when I went to go look it up I couldn't find it, so I give up, and just whoever asked that then YES Hiei ran away from Kurama and look, I've gone cross-eyed and run out of breath.

Thank you all so much for reviewing and liking the story!

**Note**: This chapter contains **nonconsensual sex** in other words **RAPE** and, though not a lemon, is rather explicit. Please do not read it if it makes you uncomfortable. Also, there is light description of **torture**, so please, please, please, **only read to your comfort**. I won't be accepting flames for this sort of thing.

And, by the way…No one guessed the real cause behind Hiei's…oddness and murderous intent. Enjoy as we draw to our climax.

-o-o-o-o-

_**Embrace the Winter Snow**_

_Chapter 10_

-o-o-o-o-

"Hello Urameshi."

Hiei's voice was full of mockery and bloodlust, and his crimson eyes gleamed with malice. His grin, wide and maniacal, sent shivers through Yusuke's body.

"Hiei….it-it was you?" Yusuke's voice echoed softly from his throat, his voice a sorrowful mix of pain and sorrow. His fists, clenched and shaking at his sides, bellied his hidden anger. "You killed Kuwabara and Yukina? _You _beat Kurama within an inch of his life!"

The fire demon's grin grew wider and turned from maniacal to that of one beyond lunacy. Yusuke flinched as the sword nicked the flesh of his neck. A thin cut formed on his skin, large enough for a small trickle of blood to trail the length of the sword, the crimson gleaming against the contrasting metal.

Keeping his cold, insane eyes locked with Yusuke's betrayed ones, Hiei bent forward and licked the rich liquid off of his katana. His eyes flashed, and not in anger, sending more shivers down Yusuke's spine.

"I enjoyed it, too."

Yusuke screamed out as his rage took over at that confession, blinding his logic. He tried to swipe at Hiei as he felt his own energy sky-rocket. Nails were forcing length out of his fingers as they sharpened and he could feel his air tickling the back of his neck as it began to grow. Blue tattoos were fading in and out of existence among his somewhat tanned skin.

"Hold it, Urameshi." The transformation ended with the tip of Hiei's sword moved to his chest, digging into his flesh slightly. Burning red eyes blinked brown as logic once more fought against his anger.

His transformation remained half complete as the sword stopped his demonic reaction to the rage that burned within him. He couldn't believe that he had let his demon nature out of his control. He had not done that in years.

"Heh, you're weak, Urameshi." Hiei stood straight, his sword held in one hand and barely applying pressure but keeping it as a warning. "You couldn't protect him. You still can't; Kurama will be mine once more."

"You bastard!" Yusuke spat out, remaining still against the blade. Hiei smirked and twisted the metal, digging it deeper into his flesh. Yusuke hissed through clenched teeth, trying to block his pain from sight.

"You couldn't protect any of them," the fire demon taunted in a whisper, accusing and mocking. Yusuke bit his lip and took a deep, calming breath.

It wasn't his fault. It wasn't his fault. He couldn't have done any more. It wasn't his fault. It wasn't his fault. It wasn't…it wasn't…It was. It was his fault.

"Why?" he asked as his mind all but shut down its rage and resistance. It was all his fault. His voice was cold but thick with the pain of betrayal and, worse, the pain of having betrayed, himself, however illogical.

The fire demon before him was applying more pressure to that sword and Yusuke knew he was going to die. He knew that his partner, comrade, ally…friend, was going to kill him, was going to drive that sword through his chest and listen as his ribs cracked and his lungs were punctured. Hiei would revel in pleasure as his blood filled his lungs and he drowned in his own life force. He was going to die…again.

But this time, it would be at the hands of his friend. And this time, there would be no coming back.

Hiei shrugged. "Because I could. Goodbye, Yusuke."

Yusuke shut his eyes as time slowed and a mix of fear and acceptance lingered through his mind and soul. He could hear his own heart beat pounding in his ears, the blood rushing through his veins. The sound of blood dripping off his fingers as he pierced his sharp nails into the palms of his hands, enhanced through the deafening silence. He could hear Hiei take in a triumphant breath and felt the sword leave his skin, pulled back for his final blow. He heard the sound of footfalls to his left, a curious thing, and then he heard a familiar voice screaming out his name.

An even more curious thing, as his attacker would be the last one he expected to scream out his name. But it had definitely been Hiei's voice screaming his name.

And the next thing he knew, something collided with the side of his body, sending himself and the object of collision to the ground, rolling after the hard impact with the floor. Brown eyes snapped open to see a dark figure climbing to his feet several feet away. It was the attacker of his side, the one who shoved him to the ground….the one who had saved him from the fire demon's blade.

And it was Hiei.

Wide eyes blinked in disbelief as Yusuke looked from his potential killer to the dark newcomer. He was staring at two of the same image.

He was staring at two Hiei's, facing off against each other in his own bedroom.

-o-o-o-o-

Hiei climbed silently to his feet, rage radiating off of him in waves of heat. He paid no attention to the detective that was lying on his stomach, transformation finally reverting, staring up at him in shock and disbelief.

He paid no attention to his surroundings, no attention to the world around him at all.

None of that mattered. What mattered was his rage, Kurama's revenge, and the punching bag he was about to take it all out on. A punching bag that stood before him, hissing in anger like a wild cat. Reaching to his hip, he drew his katana from its sheath, leveling it at his own image.

"So this is how you got close to the Fool and my sister!" Hiei growled, his voice raising to a furious shout. As he stood facing the copycat, he once more felt the anger begin to overwhelm his senses and he fought to not only control it this time, but to play it to his own strength.

His copycat, with a face contorted in rage, suddenly broke into laughter. The cold and mirthless sound of the cackle sent shivers down the spines of those present. Crimson eyes as deep as their real counterparts held a cruel amusement as he leaned towards Hiei in a mocking sort of stance. "Did you forget one, Hiei?" he raised his own sword to mimic the fire demon. "Or are you still ignorant of my claim on Kurama?"

The fire demon, if possible, grew more dangerous and Yusuke suddenly feared for his house. It might soon spontaneously combust with the heat radiating off of Hiei.

"So it is true." The venom within that voiced betrayed every thought Yusuke had ever held of Hiei. It went far beyond the normal fear that every sane person felt from Hiei, friend or stranger. The fire demon before him, the original and the one who was radiating enough heat to make steel catch fire, was terrifying him.

His face had contorted to that of true rage, a demon beyond anything that Yusuke had ever seen, including the many creatures they had faced before this. Icy red eyes, belying their own contradiction, stared at the counterpart in such ferocity and revulsion that the fire demon's child-like features had turned to that of a devil in guise. Yusuke was practically shaking from the look alone, and he was not on the receiving end of it.

The fire demon tilted his head to the slightest degree, his katana matching his movement to perfect balance and a hint of offense. "Tell me, shape shifter," he hissed through a tight jaw, voice seething with sought revenge, "did you force yourself upon my mate?"

The on-watching hanyou's eyes widened as he forced his jelly-formed legs to hold his weight. Kurama was no longer Hiei's lover and the fire demon, as of four days ago, had continued to refuse most relation with the fox.

Was this only Hiei's way of avenging Kurama? Were his words merely a form of vengeance?

In actuality, though the detective would never know, those words had formed without thought. Hiei had spoken without his mind mulling over the words, and the result was all the evidence of what he already knew.

He still loved Kurama, and he found himself once more longing for his former mate, and desiring nothing more than the death of his tormentor.

"I did," the fake answered Hiei's question, the voice filled with mockery. His leer grew larger and the look of insanity once more turned worse. Wide-eyed and almost panting in excitement, he began to laugh once more. "And I listened in pure pleasure to his screams!"

"Kisama!" Hiei shouted out and disappeared in a blur as he charged. The fire demon clashed against the fake's sword counter as it became a game of rapid, beyond-sight parries and counters.

The only problem was that Yusuke could no longer see the two demons, let alone tell them apart and choose one to attack. It was your standard game of "Who's Who?"

The copycat dodged and the two once more locked swords as metal hitting metal ringed through the air; an after sound that followed the insane speed of the attacks. The two locked swords as the shape shifter leaned towards the frame their hooked swords created.

"I've never heard such enticing screams," he whispered and Hiei pulled his sword, allowing the force pushing against it to cause the blade to slide the length of the shape shifter's sword, nearly cutting the leering copycat as he moved away.

Nearly, and most unfortunately only that.

Hiei blocked another attack and lost his balance momentarily. As the fire demon braced himself with an arm on the floor, the fake kicked at his exposed limb and he hissed as it sent him rolling across the ground. The counterpart tried to separate his head from his shoulders and Hiei managed to break the attack with his own sword, but a katana was meant for one-slice kills, not parries. His sword was likely to break under the stress.

"Yusuke?" The raven-haired man turned in an almost panicked fear at the sweet, but terrified sound of his wife's voice. Keiko stood in the doorway, her eyes wide and bright with fear and confusion as she watched two identical fire demons charge at one another.

"Stay back Keiko!" Yusuke screamed and the woman obeyed, backing up slightly and unconsciously putting a hand to her stomach. Luckily, and with a luck that brought a sigh so relieved out of Yusuke's mouth, the two demons were too well engaged to notice the new addition to the audience.

Lying on the floor with the copycat's foot on either side of his body, Hiei staved off a sword inches from his neck with his own blade as the fake used gravity to his advantage, pushing harder and harder to try and separate Hiei's head once more. The fire demon was using all his own strength just to fend off his own death. The fake leaned down over his own sword, drawing as near to Hiei as he could.

Taking every opportunity to taunt the fire demon, the copycat whispered quietly to his counterpart, "_Such _enticing screams…And they grew even more…arousing each time."

Hiei screamed out all the anger and all the rage that that one sentence had invoked alone. _Each time_? Within Hiei's mind, thoughts were flying. Each time as in…each scream? Or each time as in…?

Something shifted within the fire demon's body, something deep and buried. Something he thought he had gotten rid of. Something he thought he had lost.

The fire demon shoved the fake off with so much force that the copycat lost his footing and tumbled to the ground. "How dare you!" Hiei screamed out as he climbed to his feet, sword in hand. "How can you possibly care so little about him?"

The blade of that katana sliced through air as his copycat barely managed to dodge in time. Hiei didn't even seem to notice as his rage blared through his own words and movements, the sword once more slamming down through the air. "How can you hurt someone so kind? How can you find such enjoyment in his pain!"

That hazy red fog from his prior experiences in uncontrollable anger had returned to the fire demon's mind. But this time…this time he could see through it, and what he could see was a redheaded demon with an angel's everything; face, personality, heart, body, _everything_.

And all he could see were crystalline green eyes broken in pain and betrayal.

Now he knew. Everything had finally clicked. Kurama hated him, and he had a right to, but not for the reasons he thought. The fox hated him because he believed that Hiei had betrayed him, taken everything from him.

Taken it all like he was nothing more than a toy.

The copycat screamed out in pain as Hiei's blade sunk into flesh, pinning the skin of his upper arm to the carpet of Yusuke's bedroom. The fire demon hadn't even noticed he'd struck again.

All that rage and all that pain…everything was this disgusting creatures fault. He kneeled over the copycat, digging his knee into the demon's crotch. The fake growled out a deep scream as he tried to fight, but Hiei pinned down his sword arm.

"You have caused me the greatest pain in my life," Hiei whispered in a voice that could send shivers down Satan himself. But the copycat beneath him, though his body did shake at the tones, only forced through a mocking grin, which caused Hiei's eyes to blare his anger even further.

"I may have raped him, fire demon," the fake replied in a voice that sounded all-knowing. The sound of it was like nails on a chalkboard to both Hiei and Yusuke. "But I'm not the one who wanted him dead for the snow-girl's death."

Hiei's eyes widened slightly. He had already drawn together that his attack on Kurama that morning was unjust and cruel, but he hadn't yet plugged it in with the appearance of this copycat.

And now he truly hated himself for all he was worth. To Kurama, this must have been the deepest pain. Not only did the fox believe that his lover had killed Yukina, raped him and then beat him within an inch of his life, but he also believed that Hiei had come back and blamed him for his sister's death as a _cover story._

"How can you hurt someone so pure as he?" Hiei asked in a voice that made the two onlooker's eyes widen. It was the voice of someone whose emotions were torn in two, each on one side of a broken heart.

The copycat grinned maliciously. "Because I took away that pureness…and I reveled in the pain of its destruction." The fake suddenly brought up his knee, despite Hiei's footing on his crouch. He slammed his foot into Hiei's chest, sending the fire demon backwards.

The copycat grabbed the hilt of Hiei's sword, loosed from the fire demon's grip, and pulled it from his own flesh, hissing. He threw it to the side and turned to Hiei, but his attention was not long held. His eyes were drawn off the fire demon that was climbing to his feet and to Yusuke, who had one hell of charged finger aimed directly at the copycat.

"Hn." That was the only sound that passed the room before he disappeared in a black streak of displaced air.

Yusuke all but collapsed to the floor as he lowered his hand. The conversation before them had been hard to discern from its quiet levels, and he had deduced from the last statement that the Hiei on the floor had been the fake one.

Of course, it made him nervous that he couldn't be sure, and that was his only reason for not firing when he had the chance.

Well, that and the fact that he would have destroyed half of his house in the process, and there was no guarantee that the fake would have actually gotten hit.

Hiei walked over to him, bending down to grab the discarded sword before he turned to the detective. Yusuke had been ready to give a small smile and crack a relaxing joke, but the look on the fire demon's face told him that there would be no laughs tonight. No jokes to break the sturdy silence.

"Why didn't you tell me?" The fire demon's voice was low and dangerous, the anger within it concealed only to a certain level of animosity.

"Hiei-"

"That night, in the woods," Hiei cut off the detective with his sharp but quiet words. "Why didn't you tell me that Kurama had been raped?"

Yusuke stumbled back a few feet, more out of a lack of having any idea what to say to the demon. So, he told the truth, or as much of it as he could actually reason out under that crimson gaze.

"I…I didn't tell you, Hiei, because I didn't know how you would handle it," he replied cautiously. "Kurama…he was your mate and…and I didn't know what you'd do, or if you'd even care."

The reality of that last reason hit Hiei hard, and he looked up to Yusuke with eyes that suddenly understood everything that they'd done, and everything that they had lost. The detective came forward, gently clasping him on the back with a comforting hand.

"It's okay man, you didn't rape Kurama. We can fix this whole thing up, we just need to go tell the fo…" Yusuke's voice trailed off and Hiei's eyes widened at the incomplete sentence.

If Yusuke was here, in this room, then Kurama was once more at the temple, alone with Genkai and Tekara. And the copy was no doubt heading to that very location.

Now that they knew his secret, how he had been getting so close, his game was up. He would take what he had claimed, and he would kill the rest.

Yusuke and Hiei were moving within seconds, the latter flying out the window at a speed that defied that of which even he was normally capable of doing. Yusuke ran passed Keiko, stopping only long enough to console her and give her a light kiss on the cheek, before he followed Hiei's path out the window, leaping to the rooftops for transportation.

-o-o-o-o-

_He was lost to supple and calming darkness, a warmth that wrapped around him happily. He was aware of only two things; the black blanket that encompassed his body lovingly, and his awareness itself._

_He was no longer asleep, but lost in the folds of the blankets of sleep, slowly and lazily searching for the opening that would lead him to the waking world…_

…_Kurama opened his eyes to darkness. No, that wasn't darkness. That was the ceiling. He was just in a dark room. _

_That ruled out the possibility of waking up to his alarm clock. Well, that and the fact that there was no annoying beeping. Of course, Hiei was known for breaking that specific item, and had done so on several occasions. _

_But the darkness meant it was the middle of the night still. The redhead roused himself out of the low futon, automatically noting that he wasn't in his bedroom at all, but in the temple._

_So it wasn't the alarm clock, or his family, or Hiei…No, Hiei would have made himself known if he had indeed been the one to wake him. Plus…yes, that's right, Hiei wasn't supposed to arrive until the morning._

_Which would explain the temple scene, the lack of alarm clock, and the absence of Hiei…but it still didn't explain the actual waking up part. Kurama climbed off of the low futon and stood up, walking towards the door of the temple room._

_He had not made it fully to the door when he heard footsteps outside in the hall and he suddenly remembered what had woken him up. _

_It had been a scream. A single female scream. Yukina's scream. _

_The fox was fully awake now. He drew a rose from the nape of his neck, the beautiful flower bursting forth into bloom. The fox frowned as he drew up beside the wall, lifting his hand. The soft skin of his fingertips brushed the edge of the wood when the footfalls paused, stopping the kitsune._

_A silence that strangled the single occupant swallowed the room as there was a pause between the two silences._

_Then, the door was pulled open and Kurama's eyes widened as booted feet left footprints of wet, snow caked imprints on the tamati mats. Not that he should have had shoes on in the first place._

_His thoughts focused on the man standing before him as Kurama stumbled back in surprise. The rose dropped to the floor, the petals gently bending in as they hit the unyielding wooden surface. The soft thud that followed was the only sound amid the silence between the two men._

_The newcomer took a step closer, entering the room. Kurama remained wide-eyed but found his body unable to move as he stared at the man before him. _

_"What's wrong Kurama?"_

_That deep, but soft voice. The voice of his lover._

_It wasn't what he had just heard, despite what he was seeing._

_The voice he heard was cold. _

_Very cold. _

_And not the voice of his lover. _

_"H-Hiei?" Kurama's own voice was shaking as he stood before his love. What fear was this that he was feeling? He stood before his lover now, all but paralyzed with fear and his limbs shaking from the exertion of trying to hold the rest of his body still._

_But if that was his lover, then there was something very different about him. A coldness, an evil intent that he had not truly seen in years. Kurama blinked, finally able to get a hold of himself, struggling impossibly within his own mind to conquer the absurd fear that rattled his body._

_"H-Hiei…" Kurama shook his head slightly as he took a deep breath, calming his nerves. "What are you doing here? Y-You aren't supposed to be here for a few more h-hours."_

_Hiei's eyes narrowed slightly, but his smirk, one that sent shivers down Kurama's spine, remained in place. His lover took a few steps forward, moving slowly, almost like a prowler, and the fox had to fight the instinctual urge to move back as well._

_"What's wrong, Kurama?" Hiei asked as he took another step forwards, drawing close to enough to touch the fox. He gently reached out his slim hand, tracing his fingers down the skin of Kurama's cheek with his rough fingertips. "Don't you trust me?"_

_The fox shivered, though from the touch or the tone, he did not know. "O-Of course I do, Hiei," he replied, still unable to steady his voice enough to match his now still body. "You just surprised m-me. I'm confused, Dragon, th-that's all." _

_He tried to offer a comforting smile, the one that would make his lover beam at him in his own way, but it came off weak, and shaky. Hiei tilted his head to the side, a predatory gleam in his eyes that matched the smile. _

_"Confused, Kurama?" Hiei whispered, running his hand down to the fox's neck, drawing little circles with his fingertips. He smirked most evilly as he felt the body beneath him shiver in delight…or was it in fear? _

Yes, it was fear. Kurama feared that smirk, there was something so darkly exposed on the very surface that he was afraid of what might be truly buried beneath. But something hit the fox like a slap to the face and suddenly, Kurama no longer noticed the fear. All he felt was the guilt of that fear.

_How could he be afraid his lover so greatly that he doubted what was within his heart? He knew Hiei's heart. There was nothing evil in it; nothing that would hurt him. _

_Nothing._

_He gave a smile and, though it was shaky, it held more of his normal love in it. "I'm alright, Hiei but…" his brow furled slightly as his gaze drew passed the fire demon. "I thought I heard someone s-scream. I thought I heard Y-Yukina scream…"_

_Hiei's red eyes narrowed slightly, and the shivers returned to Kurama's body, the fear once more sparking in his mind. Guilty ridden or not, there was something so very different about Hiei. Something he should definitely fear. _

_"No one screamed, Kurama." Hiei's fingers had begun to trace down from his neck to his collarbone, beginning to trace down the very curves of his bare chest. _

_"N-no," the fox whispered in reply. He knew what had awoken him, he knew that someone had screamed._

_No, he knew that **Yukina** had screamed. He shook his head but he could not bring himself to look down at Hiei, to meet those gleaming red eyes that stared up into his face with a longing insincerity. _

_He could not bring himself to look. So he remained with is eyes looking to the open door._

_"H-Hiei, I know that Yukina screamed….I k-know she did!" he protested as he moved a hand down to Hiei's hand, his fingers gently wrapping around the fire demons, stopping their sensual movement. "Someone screamed, Hiei."_

_"Kurama," the fire demon's tone had changed into one of impatience, and the fox glanced down in surprise. Hiei's eyes were almost ablaze with a need that Kurama had never seen within his lover. It was a longing for something he'd never had, an incessant need that would never leave him alone._

_And it was just one more thing to send shivers down the fox's spine._

_"Don't you believe me?" Hiei's tone was accusing, and just those words sent more waves of immense guilt through the fox's mind, freezing his protest until he realized that, no matter how much guilt he might feel, he still knew that Yukina had screamed._

_"N-no, it's not that, Hiei," he replied in an unsteady, shaking voice. "It's just…I…I just want to double ch-check. Make sure Yukina's o-okay, alright?" He gently pushed passed the shorter demon, leaving his hand to touch only air. He started towards the door, feeling a little more comfortable with his surroundings now._

_However, his immediate comfort didn't last very long. Kurama took four steps, enough to get within a foot of the door when the sound of metal slicing air lit up his ears. The sound switched to that of a soft thud, metal through flesh, and Kurama's eyes widened in surprise._

_His breath became shaky and sketchy as his emerald green eyes changed from shock to pain and he glanced down, four thin, skinny fingers tracing the edge of a sword that stuck out from his stomach._

_Kurama could feel the closeness of the metal to his spine, piercing between his organs. He could feel the warm blood drip down either side of him. And he could hear the blood pounding in his ears._

_The soft footfalls of Hiei's booted feet stopped behind him with an agitated sigh. Kurama gasped, his breath gurgled with the blood that his stomach was rejecting, spitting up into his mouth as Hiei grasped the hilt of the sword and pulled it from the fox's slender body. _

_A small trickle of the crimson liquid dribbled from the corner of his mouth as he moved it nimbly as if muttering unheard words. The tip of the sword slid from his flesh and he collapsed to the floor, both his knees and then his thighs giving out beneath him._

_He winced, the rest of his mind and body unresponsive, lost in shock, as Hiei grabbed his hair and began pulling him back into the room. His lover, his Hiei, the one who could never hurt him, would never hurt him, at any cost, had just impaled him with his own sword._

_The fire demon dropped him back down in the center of the room and then straddled his hips, crouching down to sit on his knees, one leg on either side of Kurama. He slowly ran his fingertips around the wound to Kurama's stomach, before gently dipping within the bloody split of skin._

_The fox's body finally responded, even if his mind was numb with pain and betrayal, and he screamed as fingers probed his burning flesh and pounding wound. He could feel the blood soak into the wood beneath him slowly and he found breathing slightly more difficult as he tried to gather too much air in response to his scream and began choking on his own pain._

_"Shhh," Hiei whispered above him as he slowly moved his fingers away from the wound. Bringing up the crimson coated digits, he ran his forefingers up both of Kurama's cheeks, leaving two streaks of his own blood._

_The kitsune stared up into his eyes, the fire demon's color matching that of the liquid on his fingers. His blood; his life force, draining away in a similar manner as the sanity drained from Hiei's eyes, leaving only lust and need, raw need._

_"H-Hiei…" With that heart-broken sob of desperation and betrayal, the first tear flowed from Kurama's eye, rolling down his blood-covered skin to drop onto the wooden floor by his cheek._

_"Stop crying! You're a fucking demon, for god's sake," Hiei commanded harshly as he drew up his sword once more. "You're a disgrace, Kurama. Can't even hold a little pain back, can you?"_

_Kurama screamed out as the sword was buried through his chest cavity, the very dip in his skin where his ribs ended. He felt the metal stretch his skin down into his own organs before it split apart, blood rushing to the surface as the sword pierced down through layers of flesh, then muscle, tearing it to a shred in its eager path downwards. _

_He felt the blade strike his right lung, pressing up against the very edge of it, stretching its encasing and endangering his oxygen supply. But the metal surged on, snapping three of his ribs in the force it took. The metal stretched his muscle and skin once more, shredding both before it buried itself deep in the wood beneath him._

_But even that wasn't enough. The force applied to the wood was too great and it cracked under the strain, imploding inwards until the sword pierced the next layer of flooring. The hilt was just centimeters from Kurama's torn and bleeding torso when it finally stopped its descent._

_"Can't have you trying to get up on me, now can I?" Hiei asked in a voice low and husky, thick with his own throbbing need. Kurama shivered, turning his head to the side._

_How could this be Hiei? But it was Hiei, leaning over him, holding the hilt of the sword buried within his body. He may have been in shock, but his eyes did not deceive him._

_Hiei pulled back slightly, raising back onto his knees so that none of him was pressed against Kurama. The fox was still held by the sword, though the weapon was no longer held by Hiei. The fire demon, instead, lowered his hands to his own body._

_The hands moved down to his white belts, hastily casting each beside before pulling his pants down to his knees, not even bothering to remove them or his shoes. His hands then traveled to Kurama's own bottoms, and the fox shut his eyes tightly as his pants were torn off of him._

_This couldn't be happening._

_It couldn't._

_Couldn't._

_Kurama screamed out as several digits violated him, and he struggled desperately against their almost foreign movement. His fight for distance from those fingers did not last long as his entire body, not just his chest, screamed out its reminder of the sword protruding from his body._

_His eyes remained tightly shut as the blood covered fingers of Hiei's free hand moved over his cheek and then down his neck. The blood trail traced over his chest, following every contour line of his muscular body. _

_Kurama could not stop the tears from running down his cheeks as Hiei's fingers were pulled cruelly out of him and replaced with something he wanted far less. A scream ripped through him as Hiei entered him dry and quickly, burying up to his hilt. _

_"S-stop!" he screamed out, his voice begging for an end to the activity, but Hiei just laughed, the sound sending shivers down the kitsune's already shaking body. _

_"That's right…scream for me, Kurama," the fire demon bent over and whispered in his ear, his own body quivering in his need and lust. He pulled almost entirely out of the fox, pausing for a few seconds until the first thought of security entered Kurama's mind. When he saw the fox dare to take a breath, he slammed his body against him, burying himself as far in as he could._

_The fox's cry of pain pierced the silence of the temple as he tried desperately to move, the sword slamming against his body and holding him to Hiei's thrusts. The fire demon would pull completely out and thrust as hard as he could back in over and over again, until the fox was lost to a hazy fog of pain and forgotten innocence._

_His cries raged through the silence until his throat went raw and his voice hoarse. Tears streamed down his face until there was no more salt and water available for him to cry. _

_The next hour was a blur of continuous pain, the same hurt over and over again, brief intervals of tortured beatings until his lover and rapist was once more aroused. The sword wound to his lower abdomen was not healing for the continuous movement that ripped at it, and the chest wound was widening with every rock that his body received, shoving against the unmoving metal._

_Kurama wasn't sure when he heard the high pitched scream of agony from outside the temple walls, the cry for a love long gone. He wasn't sure when the pain abruptly stopped, when Hiei pulled hastily from him and dressed quickly. _

_He was aware, however, when Hiei leaned over him, his fully dressed body pressed against Kurama's bare one. "You get better with each fuck," he whispered huskily within the fox's ear. "Wish I had all the time in the world but your little friends are here. Don't worry, though, I'll be back for one last round."_

_Kurama's body was unresponsive and his mind was in a similar state of numb reprieve, simply free of the pain that had been raging through his body for the last hour. He blinked half open eyes, his responses slow and dull from ache._

_"Now, we'll have to do something about your wounds. I can't have you getting all your strength back on me," the fire demon's voice was still low, almost less than a whisper, as he hovered just above the fox's face. Kurama didn't register as the fire demon's hand dug at something in his pants._

_He did notice when the thin piece of paper that was pulled out and pressed against the back of his neck. He screamed, the last one his sore throat could possibly manage, as the ink on it slowly sunk into his skin. Pinpricks of impossible pain struck through his spinal cord, down his central nervous system until his entire body was aflame with the pain. _

_It ended almost as abruptly as it had begun and Kurama fell back against the wood, his body week with ache, exhaustion, and abuse. Hiei smiled as he continued to whisper to the fox, "That's one step better. But…I can't have you spreading around my little secret, either, now can I?"_

_Kurama's eyes widened in slow response, the first in the last hour, as Hiei pulled the sword from his chest. He gave a silent scream, all his raw and torn throat had left to offer as the already sorely tampered wound was given a final tug, and pieces of the broken mat and wood beneath him were lodged into the wound upon the swords exit. _

_His eyes, once more tightly shut against pain, opened wide when cold, wet metal touched his neck. He looked pleadingly, shocked, into Hiei's cruel crimson eyes. The fire demon smirked. _

_"To make sure you don't tell," he whispered menacingly before he drew the blade across the fox's throat. Kurama's eyes widened to their full extent as he tried to draw in breath to an instinct to gasp._

_He choked on his own blood, both from his failing right lung and the slow trickle of blood down his throat. Kurama coughed up the red liquid, spewing it down his own chin, a gurgled cry of pain coming from his burning chest and stinging neck._

_There were no more words left to describe the pain, the betrayal, the torture that his body was undergoing as Hiei stood, wiping his sword on his shirt. _

_"Farewell, Kurama," Hiei whispered one last time as he turned around. "I'll be back for that last round."_

_With that, he vanished out the window and into the snowy world beyond. Kurama stared, his eyes half lidded in pain and focused solely on that window beyond his head. The snow drifted past his vision, resting on the branches of the tree outside the window. Small flecks drifted in from the cold, resting on the sill and warm bed before slowly melting in peaceful ignorance._

_The fox was just as ignorant as his own fingers moved slowly up his own neck, no longer under the influence of his consciousness. He was unaware as the door was slammed open, Yusuke running in at the sight of his friend in a pool of blood. He didn't notice the detective's attempt to pull Kurama's fingers from the wound in his neck. He never remembered fighting against the detective._

_All he saw was the snow drifting passed the open window._

-o-o-o-o-

Kurama woke with a silent scream, crying out to the unknown. His wide, green eyes tried to focus on the darkness and he waited, panting in the blackness as cold sweat dripped down his skin.

His eyes fluttered closed as he calmed his breathing, logic sinking within his panicked mind, his chest aching with his attempt to slow his gasps. When he opened emerald orbs, the dimmest of outlines was brought to his eyes, and he could see the contours of the temple room.

Kurama gave a sigh as he slowly, lazily looked around the room. He didn't want to go to back to sleep, not to relive the same dream over and over. Green eyes glanced over to the window and stopped immediately.

The window was open. Fully open. He threw off his covers and stood, backing away from the window, where snow was slowly drifting in to rest and melt on the bed.

Just like that night.

"Hello, Kurama."

The fox spun at the voice that echoed eerily behind him.

The voice of every nightmare he'd had for the last five years.

-o-o-o-o-

Muwahahaha!

Well, I certainly hope that was satisfying enough for the long wait! I truly apologize for how long it took, but I AM BACK! I'm happy and fully in the writing mode. I hope to get some chapters out on Memories, Spider bite, and maybe even content.

So I hope you enjoyed.

**Author's Note**

…_high pitched scream of agony from outside the temple walls, the cry for a love long gone…_ Okay, if you didn't catch what that meant, it was Kuwabara screaming out Yukina's name when he and Yusuke stumbled upon her body.

Well, I stayed up till Midnight to edit this for you, so please forgive any errors. But I am tiiiired! So gooooood niiiiight!


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer**: Lalalalalala alalal alala alal

…okay, now that that's out of my system: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho

…Lala!

**Notes**: Right, right, don't remind me that I need to be doing my other stories, I know, I know! -sigh- My sincerest apologies for not getting any other chapters out first, but this story is the one calling me at the moment.

Once more, I'm SORRY and I'm WORKING on the other chapters.

I…can't quite remember what I was going to put in this chapter so…

**_Possible_ Warning:** There may be nonconsensual sex in this chapter. Oh WAIT! …yes, there _will be_ preludes to nonconsensual sex. About as bad (or as light?) as last chapter (however you see the glass)

…I think…

Also, not pretty terms coming up: some cussing.

-o-o-o-o-

--Action

--"Talking" (if this if telepathy on Kurama's part, it will be mentioned in the "he said mentally" bit)

--_Thoughts_

_--:Youko to Shuichi to Youko:_

-o-o-o-o-

_**Embrace the Winter Snow**_

_Chapter 11 _

-o-o-o-o-

"Hello, Kurama."

The fox spun at the voice that echoed eerily behind him.

The voice of every nightmare he'd had for the last five years.

The fox gasped and spun. Hiei stood in the corner of the room, his red eyes glowing as an evil from some science fiction movie. He backed up until he was pressed against the wall, his eyes wide in horror.

"St-stay away from me!" he screamed mentally as he wrapped his arms around him. Hiei flinched in the slightest, his head twitching to the side before he looked back, his eyes calm as ever.

Kurama's eyes had closed and his breathing quieted.

"Nice trick," Hiei whispered as he started closer. "So you developed a telepathic ability. Should have seen that coming."

Kurama suddenly straightened and, when he opened his eyes, they were flecked with gold. "Go. Away. Hiei. I gave you your warning. It was the last, now leave."

The fire demon's eyes flashed with anger and narrowed in annoyance. "Youko," he spat out, his hand lying down on his sword hilt. "So, you found a way to surface even with that ward.

Youko's eyes remained unreadable and, conditions notwithstanding, quite calm despite the warning laced in his voice and the anger within his heart. "Leave, Hiei."

The fire demon snorted. "Or what, Youko? You barely have the energy to come to the surface, let alone summon your plants." A dirty little smirk settled over that small, impish face. "My ward saw to that."

Youko raised a slim hand to barely touch the kanji sunken into his skin in black ink, his eyes half lidded in remembrance, both from his human counterpart's dream, as well as his own memory of the horrific event.

"Yes…Your ward saw my imprisonment within Shuichi climb to an all new level and it saw to the imprisonment of Shuichi to a dying body unable to support his kind soul." Youko's voice had achieved a sort of calmed, rehearsed speech that seemed much more deadly than an angry voice. "Why have you done this to us, Hiei? We loved you…did you not love us?"

The fire demon seemed to think about this question for a moment. "Hm…I guess I did it because I could, Halfbreed. Who could ever love the traitor of the demon world, hmm?" he asked in a nonchalant voice, which only increased the harshness that it was received in. "And besides, a beauty such as yourself isn't meant for "love" as you call it. It's meant for a good fucking, and an even better possession."

Youko stood his ground, still calm, as Hiei started towards him, the fox haloed in the silver moonlight outside. The fire demon continued his explanation as he stepped up to his prey. "You are _mine_, Youko. This human body is _mine_ and your little human is _mine._ I have claimed you, and you are mine!"

As Hiei's voice rose, Youko brought up his guard and it was a good thing, as he found himself able to block the punch the fire demon tried to sling at him. His human body, however, wasn't quick enough to counter Hiei's speed, nor healed enough for the strength required to protect himself and he gasped as a boot was shoved into his stomach, tearing open his five year old wound.

He slammed into the wall behind him and coughed, blood slowly filling his mouth as his stomach retched the crimson liquid. It dribbled down his chin as he began to slide down the wall. That is, until an arm caught him, the forearm pressed against his throat and he gave a gurgled choke.

"Do I get to pin you on the wall this time?" Hiei whispered in a husky voice that Youko would have once identified as anything but his lover. The fire demon pulled something out of his cloak, but Youko's dazed state couldn't register it until it was too late.

A scream echoed through the minds of the temple as a small dagger was pierced through his right shoulder, just below his collarbone. The scream had not yet ended when its twin was added to his left shoulder and he struggled desperately against the metal lodged in his skin, pinning and holding him to the wooden wall.

"Let me go, fire demon!" the kitsune growled out dangerously, but Hiei just smirked, standing on his tiptoe to crush his lips against the Youko's, licking up the blood along his chin.

Kurama pulled away, spitting it out as his eyes began to turn back to pure green. Youko was loosing the fight against his own anger and Shuichi all but shoved him back, hoping to protect him in his childish, human manner.

"Oooh, so you're back now," Hiei whispered, running the sharp blade of another knife down Kurama's cheek, leaving a thin red line with a following drop of blood down his neck. "I was so hoping it would be you I got to fuck again."

Kurama shivered even as Youko screamed his ear off within his head, but he blocked both voices out, closing his eyes and preparing himself for what was to come. He would never hurt Hiei, and that was the reason that Youko must stay within, and that the fire demon would take what he wanted.

Pale eyelids squeezed tightly shut as his palm was pulled up, bent at the elbow, to be a foot from his shoulder. The tip of a knife pressed into that palm, and Kurama knew what was about to happen, trying to prepare himself for it and block out the soon-to-come pain.

But it never came as a scream echoed through the temple and Hiei shouted out in anger shortly after. Kurama's eyes shot open to see none other than Tekara, slamming her fist into Hiei's head, effectively riding piggy-back on him and screaming like a mad woman.

The fire demon, trying desperately to throw her off, grabbed her arm and dug his nails into it. She winced, but continued slamming her fist into his head, much to his displeasure.

"How did you get out of that coma?" he growled coldly as he managed to get a good enough grip to fling her off his back and across the room. A small shout echoed through the moonlit quarters as she hit the wooden wall with a sickening crack and slumped to the ground, unconscious.

"Damn brat must have an immune system that counters the drug," the fake Hiei spat out at the unconscious healer as he turned back to the fox, not even realizing he had spoken aloud. "Where were we?" he asked harshly, drawing a flinch from the kitsune, whose emerald eyes were focused on the downed girl.

Hiei grabbed his chin and forced him to look back into burning crimson eyes. A shiver of pure fear ran through Kurama once more. That look; that longing insincerity and lust was back and, of all things, that was what the fox feared.

Because, with that look, everything else that would happen that night was spread out before him like the pages of a book for him to follow along.

But not much time was given for the contemplation of his anything-but-endearing fate as a dagger was slammed into the palm of his right hand, his absent concentration having forgot to remove his hand from the position Hiei had set it in. A second scream ripped through the mental world and Hiei hissed and held his head in his hands.

Something about this immediately bothered the strategist within Kurama's soul and he blinked slightly as a wondrous thought occurred to him, one that meant little at the time, however.

_Earlier, Hiei had countered his mental scream with his jagan…why was he opening himself to the pain caused by a mental assault now?_

But, again, contemplation was short lived as his other arm was yanked up and a matching blade slammed through the center, tearing muscle and vein, and sliding between the capillaries of his hand.

Anyone within the vicinity that was conscious, including the fire demon before Kurama, was most likely experiencing the beginnings of an unpleasant headache caused by mental onslaught.

Indeed, the assaulting fire demon grasped at his head. Not long after, Kurama found the tip of yet another dagger pressed against his cheek, just beneath his eye. "I took away your voice," Hiei whispered in a voice that promised pain. "I can take these too. Now shut the hell up!"

The fox remained quiet, eyes lightly closed and appearance almost one of nonchalance. At the silence, the fire demon gave a relieved sigh, rubbing his head with the hilt of the dagger. His smirk was soon to return as he moved the dagger's blade to the fox's waistline, his cottony pants being the only clothing he was wearing, despite the cold weather.

"I guess I have even more need for release," Hiei whispered, the knife trailing along his hip bone, a small red line trailing behind it. "This headache, I'm sure, will vanish when I fuck you senseless, Kurama."

It was odd, but another useless piece of information popped up, unbidden to his mind once more, not long given thought to, both by cause of the fire demon's impatience and Kurama's confused nonchalance.

_Funny, Hiei always referred to me as Fox, not Kurama._

Kurama shut his eyes all the tighter as his pants were slit from bottom to top. They fell as the elastic band was cut and he shivered slightly at the horrible thought of what lay ahead, and the roaming red eyes that looked over him in lust now.

He needn't open his eyes to know what was staring at him.

The fox opened his mouth in a silent scream as no time was wasted and his hips were lifted up to Hiei's waist. He immediately found three fingers shoved into him before he'd even had a chance to take a breath. Those fingers were harsh and unforgiving, and they ravished him with no remorse as the fire demon before him grew impatient.

Kurama seemed somewhat surprised, though it was in the back of his hazy mind. The demon before him was not under the same objective as he was last time. The last time this nightmare was invoked upon reality, Hiei had spent extra time making sure that everything he did caused the fox as much pain as possible.

Last time it had been a torture session; this time it seemed solely for the rape.

The fox's breath hitched as all three fingers were roughly removed and replaced with the one thing he wished he could forever forget the feel of. But he was reintroduced to it, and just as harshly as he remembered, as Hiei forced himself on Kurama, pushing in rapidly, and all the way up to his hilt.

A fourth scream ripped through the temple and the fire demon before him winced. Screaming was definitely not the best idea as anger sparked within the eyes of the one above him and his entire body sorely suffered as his hips were grabbed enough to be bruised. His entire back was pulled off the wall, straining the weight left on the knives that now supported his upper body rather painfully.

Though, his shoulders were the least of his problems, and that supported weight didn't have to wait long before his entire body was slammed into the wall, matching the intruding force that was thrust into him.

Kurama bit his tongue to keep from screaming out, even though it was a mental call. Green eyes began to water in pure exhaust and pain, not to mention the bringing about of his worst nightmare imaginable, but those tears didn't fall.

Sworn to the falling snow and the tears he'd once dropped, he'd never cry again.

Hiei panted heavily as he kept his tight grip on Kurama's hips, his mind hurrying him. He wouldn't have a lot of time before the two annoying brats, the spirit detective and his pet fire demon showed up.

And while he could have taken the fox elsewhere, there was no better pain then to revisit the location of the crime, and commit it all over again.

His thoughts were drawn to a wicked smile and Kurama's mouth opened in a silent scream, this one remaining silent. The two cuts before him were ripping open as he peeled Kurama's body off the wall and slammed it back in with every thrust.

Youko knew, deep within his brother's mind and soul, that Shuichi wouldn't last much longer. He tried desperately to fight his way to the surface, but his human brother kept him tightly at bay.

_:Why, Shuichi: _He growled out, banging his fists against the mental walls that Shuichi had used to keep him back. _:He is going to kill you! Let me stop him! I won't watch you die without doing a thing to stop it: _

:No: The human's voice echoed back to him, both laced in sheer panic as well as sheer pain. _:I…I'm sorry, Youko…but I can't let you hurt him…I s-still love him.:_

Youko had no reply as he closed his eyes in despair, a single silver tear threatening to fall from his golden eyes. _:Why do you have to be so noble:_

There was no response to that but the deepest flash of pain and a scream kept within their minds alone. It was something that broke the kitsune's heart as he listened to his brother suffer without end.

There was nothing he could do but sit and curse the fire demon to the very depths of hell.

Kurama was near the end of his rope, his eyes glazed over in pain and his body loosing all strength to blood loss as rivers fell from both hands, both shoulders, and the two wounds to his torso.

And yet the fire demon kept on.

The fox slowly began to close his eyes, giving in to the never-ending call for silence, the call for relief. After the first incident, though it had taken him years to recover, he had made it, hoping against hope that he had something to live for, even if it was so trivial as to prove that he wouldn't let Hiei bring him down.

But in his heart and in his mind, he knew that the day that Hiei had betrayed him, was the last day his soul had known light, his mind had known happiness, his heart; laughter, and his eyes; joy.

There wasn't anything to live for now, now that the betrayal was complete. There was no question because questions had beginnings and ends. His life was now a never ending circle that was linked from the night five years ago to this night now.

A never ending film of his misery and hellish life since he had lost the only true love he had ever had.

And it only kept repeating.

Kurama's emerald green eyes slipped closed as the last of his heart, that which he had pieced together with glue like a jigsaw puzzle, cracked and fell before it hit the floor in a shattered mess.

-o-o-o-o-

Both Yusuke and Hiei stumbled on their rapid way up the stair as a mental scream pierced their minds, ringing from ear to ear in mind-splitting agony and one hell of an after headache.

Unprepared for it, Hiei had no way to block it with the jagan and Yusuke was as susceptible to it as every other mortal. The two locked eyes once, sharing the unspoken name of their friend, before they started up the stairs, both achieving speeds neither new was possible.

The fire demon slammed open one of the Japanese side doors to the temple, wood splintering and Japanese paper ripping to shreds with the violent act. Yusuke raced in before him, jumping the remains and holding his finger out in the traditional spirit gun style, eyes roaming the dark tunnel.

Dark brown eyes lit up as they raced past the kitchen, and he quickly backtracked, whispering silent "no's" under his breath as he raced up to the island counter used as a mini table, barstools and all. Genkai sat on one of these stools, her head and light pink hair pooled on her hand, which she had laid her forehead upon. And half filled tea cup, still slightly warm, lay before her.

Yusuke gave a sigh of relief, thanking several gods, not all of them known to earth, as he felt a pulse beneath his fingers. He gently brushed Genkai's hair out of the way, as a son might an ailing mother, before he quickly left the room, Hiei impatiently waiting, respect for the old woman the only thing keeping him.

The sound of repeated thuds growing louder as they moved towards the healing room caused both boys' blood to boil and they moved so fast that the imploding door never had time to hit the floor before Hiei's body had collided with his counterpart, tearing him out of Kurama, and Yusuke had the fox supported by his waist.

The kitsune's eyes shot open at the sudden movement and a small mental scream hit the minds of those present, though not nearly as forceful. Green eyes were wide in panic and Yusuke tried to calm him, pressing a soft hand to his forehead and forcing him to look into the detective's chocolate eyes.

"Y-Yusuke?" the mental call sent waves of relief through the detective and he smiled with watery eyes, simply relieved that the fox was not dead. He turned slightly at the scuffle going on behind him as the copycat, caught unaware and with his pants down around his knees (not best for high speed running) found himself with a sword impaled through his right shoulder, just above his heart.

His scream, while no where near as affecting or painful as Kurama's, was incomparable in the enjoyment received from it.

Yusuke wasted little time watching them as he turned back to Kurama. He had to get the fox off the wall and healed soon, seeing as Kurama already looked near the end of his line.

"Hold on, Kurama, don't you die on me! There's no way in hell I'll go for that!" he growled out as he grabbed the dagger of Kurama's left hand. The fox opened his mouth in a silent scream as the dagger was pulled out. The detective gave no time for thought of pain as he pulled the other hand's dagger out as well.

A meek scream echoed through their minds, causing Yusuke and the copycat to wince. The level of the scream showed the detective just how close they were to loosing Kurama a second time and he grabbed both the knives on Kurama's shoulders and pulled at once, releasing the fox.

The scream that accompanied that one, while still laced with weakness, was enough to cause Hiei to wince in pain.

The other two couldn't think straight for several seconds.

Luckily, Yusuke had already positioned himself to catch Kurama's falling body before those moments of intense mental pain. The body went limp within his arms and he laid his friend out on the floor, tearing off his own shirt and ripping it to strips that he could press against the bleeding wounds.

The sound of retracting metal through flesh was his only warning sign as he looked up to see Hiei raise the sword to the copycat's neck, prepared to finally take the life of the one who had caused him grief and Kurama pain.

"No!" Yusuke shouted out, causing Hiei to jerk ever so slightly and the copycat to swallow heavily as the sword nicked his neck. "Hiei, you can't kill him! We need him alive to take the ward off Kurama!"

The fire demon had stared coldly at the mention of not being rewarded with the death of this creature until the reason was stated. Hard red eyes looked down to the fox, dying in a pool of his own blood, and those orbs softened.

Bending down, he grabbed the whimpering, pleading copycat by the collar and pulled him out of the room.

Yusuke didn't spare thought to what Hiei would do, simply praying that his warning would be enough. He pressed his blood soaked shirt to the wounds as Kurama mumbled in his mind, lips moving but nothing coming out, as always.

"Hold on, Kurama," he whispered as he glanced over to Tekara, who was still out and slumped against the wall. "Just hold on, fox-boy."

A hand gently touched is own and he looked down to see blinking green eyes staring up at him, filled with watery pain that would not be released. Slowly, the detective brushed away crimson strands and drew his hand down Kurama's cheek.

"Cry, Kurama," he whispered. "Cry if it will keep you alive. Please, for me: cry."

The fox tried to shake his head, but failed as a single silver tear slipped past his eyelashes and rolled down his cheek until it splashed onto the floor. Green eyes were shut tightly against any more as Yusuke bent down, placing his forehead against Kurama's cold, slightly sweat-covered one.

"There you go, it's okay to cry," Yusuke whispered. "Cry for your pain, cry for you sorrow. Hell, cry for the snow, if you have to."

Bleeding shoulders began to shake as Kurama wrapped his friend in a weak, blood-covered hug, tears slipping from his eyes as Yusuke tried desperately to keep the fox from bleeding to death.

An ear-splitting scream that topped any Kurama could have even tried to make ripped through the sob-racked air and both fox and detective turned to the door, where the agonized call had come from.

Green eyes opened wide as Hiei walked through the door, bloodied katana in hand and a purely satisfied smirk on his face. Kurama's body shook as he tried to move away, unable to in his weakening state, but Yusuke put an absent-minded, yet comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Hiei!" the detective scolded, "I told you not to kill him!"

The fire demon gave a small sneer, as if to say "you're not the boss of me" but it was hard to get across with that satisfied smirk on his face. "I didn't kill him, Detective. I just…rendered him unable to use the offensive weapon he utilized to cause Kurama so much pain."

Yusuke seemed confused for several long moments before his eyes opened wide. "You didn't, Hiei!"

The fire demon gave an annoyed glare. "I did and he deserved it. He won't be raping anyone again…or going to the bathroom, either."

-o-o-o-o-

Okay, that's not really a cliffhanger (for once!) and I left you on a funny note (for once!)

Be happy, I wrote this entire thing within an hour and it's three o'clock in the morning here.

No complaining about shortness! It's only one or two pages shorter than normal.

**Author Notes  
**

…_Youko's eyes remained unreadable and, conditions notwithstanding… _wanna know something sad? I made up that sentence for the SOLE purpose of being able to write the word "notwithstanding" in a story…. P

…_Damn brat must have an immune system that counters the drug…_ Now we know why Genkai was incapacitated. The copycat used Hiei's identity to get close enough to administer a knock-out drug. For some reason, Tekara's body countered it.

And no, no, no, she's not perfect miss Mary Sue who can't be hurt. There's a reason behind all of it. evil smile And it will be revealed next chapter

…_rendered him unable to use the offensive weapon he utilized to cause Kurama pain…_ Hehe, notice that I didn't say "Removed" hehehe…ow.

**What's to Come**

Alight, next we have the cleanup of Kurama's injuries, including the removal of the ward (not all that big of a whoopty-doo) HOWEVER, it is a big deal when we have an unexpected guest show up!

BUT we also have Kurama and Hiei's first confrontation and the decision both of them draw to!

Two more chapters to go!

WOW I never really thought that the end of this story would come…what am I going to do once it's over?

…

…..

…….Oh yeah, I'm gonna work on all the other freakin' stories.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer**: yawn Go look at Chapter one if you still seriously expecting me to gush my possessions out to you people.

**Notes**: Okay, so….yeah….I don't have any at the moment (and if you're still reading this, I obviously didn't find any I needed to tell you)

We're almost there!

-o-o-o-o-

_**Embrace the Winter Snow**_

_Chapter 12_

-o-o-o-o-

Kurama opened his eyes to white and nothing but white. Silence was all around him, but it was a peaceful silence, a fulfilling stillness. Tranquility and calm brushed against his very mind and he sat up, rubbing his head gently.

The fox blinked in the light around him and slowly climbed to his feet. He glanced around, wondering where he was among the world, and if he was even still in it.

"Am I dead, then?" he whispered. Though his voice didn't seem regretful, his eyes definitely showed their own sorrows.

"No, you certainly are not."

Kurama turned. Standing behind him was none other than Tekara, smiling widely at him, the same childish look on her face but with a new difference in it. It seemed all the wiser, a look of a child that was not for a child.

"T-Tekara?" he asked, blinking at her in surprise. She smiled wider, squinting her eyes and giving a small bow of her head. "What are you doing here? If I am not dead then…"

"I have called you here."

"What?" Kurama whispered, staring at her in surprise. Her childish smile was quietly fading into a look of serene peace but infinite knowledge. Could this really be the same healer he had known? The same childish woman he had spent five years with?

"I summoned you…I wished to speak with you, Youko Kurama." Tekara stared at him with unending eyes and he suddenly couldn't look away from her.

"Who are you?" he whispered without fully knowing why he whispered it. Tekara gave a small smile back to him, blinking her eyes slowly and deliberately.

"I…am one you both cursed and praised for five years now."

Green eyes widened as Tekara's form began shifting and grow taller. Her black kimono lengthened into a golden tunic much like Youko Kurama's, but with a finer cloth that swayed among milky white skin.

Long golden hair sprouted down to her thighs and she grew into her original body, opening pure golden eyes. Her voice deepened to a male's as her disguise lost its feminine quality.

A tail of pure gold sprouted from the end of a now male body and spinal cord, ending in nine shimmering tails. The same colored ears sprouted from his golden haired, long with shining fur.

"I-Impossible," Kurama whispered, falling to his knees before his lord, eyes wide and body numb with shock. Slowly, he bowed his head down to the white ground, folding his hands before him. "Inari-sama…"

"Rise, Youko Kurama," Inari granted, his voice a soft octave deeper than Youko Kurama's, but gentle and sweet, though firm as a god's should be. "I have summoned you, there is no need to bow."

"…It was you…as Tekara…the whole time, My Lord?" Kurama asked in a whispered voice, the situation feeling too fragile to break with louder voices.

Lord Inari smiled kindly at his young fox and bowed his head in an affirmative as Kurama made it to his feet. "Your situation captured my interest, Kurama, and my sympathy."

A hand brushed against his cheek, and he tilted his head against it. The greatest honor of his lord; the lord of foxes, looking after him personally.

"I thank you, Inari-sama," Kurama whispered, bowing once more.

Inari's smile turned tender, and he removed his clawed hand, the milky skin flashing in the whitest lights. "No creature, especially one who has learned so much from the world and has become so pure, should ever have to suffer as you have."

Kurama suddenly found himself unable to match his lord's great eyes and he glanced away to the side, hoping Inari would not take it to offense. "I…must apologize, My Lord. There were times that…I no longer believed you were there for me.…Were you…protecting me?"

Inari shook his head. "I can not and could not interfere long in the struggles of humans, Kurama," the great fox lord replied. "I healed you as often as I could and I tried to show you what you couldn't understand with closed eyes, but I could not protect you from the suffering of your life."

"Closed…eyes?" Kurama repeated, his legs feeling somewhat less weak. He stared in surprise at the fox before him, lost to what he spoke of.

"Yes…Closed by pain. Hiei is not your enemy, Kurama." The fox's eyes widened slightly as Inari nodded gently. Could a fox god be wrong? Would he lie? "Your own eyes have been closed so I saw for you."

"My lord…if Hiei is not my enemy…then who is?" His voice was defeated and pained with the mortal wounds inflicted over the past five years.

"One who would assume the guise of your lover to imprison you in guilt and pain," Inari replied, gesturing around them. Golden eyes stared softly at the man before him, the amazing creation of pain, life, and love.

"Then…why did Hiei hurt me that day…" Kurama fell to his knees, fists clenched against his pants. His confidence was gone, his ability to withstand the anger and hurt brought by his own thoughts gone.

"I was not present that day, but I know that Hiei, too, has been blinded by the pain and anger of his loss." Inari soothingly laid a hand on his fox's shoulder, smiling gently once more. "Both of you have been blind to one another."

"How can you ask me to forgive him…when the pain still feels so fresh? How can you bring reason to his betrayal?" Kurama whimpered, trying to hold his voice steady but failing as tears filled his eyes. He blinked them away, furiously refusing to give in to them.

"I do not give reason to forgive, Kurama…but I do give reason to understand."

-o-o-o-o-

A mangled gasp broke through the heavy sounds amid the chaos in the room. Yusuke had glanced up from his bleeding friend at the thud that preceded the gargled cry and his chocolate brown eyes glared in absolute and total malice.

The demon before him, previously Hiei, had reverted back to his true form after the…punishment the fire demon inflicted. Once spiky, black hair had fallen down to his shoulders in long, straight brown strands, split around his pointy ears. Pained, fear-filled yellow eyes glared at those around him. His hands were pressed to his bleeding crotch, his pants having managed to find a place back around his hips.

That glare turned more fearful than dangerous as a sword's tip found itself comfortable against his neck. He lifted his chin, trying to avoid that blade as much as possible as he clenched his teeth and stared into Hiei's fiery eyes.

Yusuke held Kurama to his chest, the fox unconscious against him. He was applying pressure to both shoulder wounds, Kurama's bloodied shirt torn to pieces and pressed against the bloody gashes. His hands had been wrapped with strips of Yusuke's shirt, and were already stained almost completely red with the blood seeping out of the knife wounds.

The two, Kurama and the shape shifter, were mere feet from each other, the former protected by Yusuke and the later guarded by Hiei.

"Take it off." Hiei's voice was the cruelest and coldest that Yusuke had heard in many a years and caused him to stare at the fire demon in surprise. Not even on some of their more gruesome missions did Hiei ever appear so ferocious or so very heartless.

"Wh-what?" the demon asked, his voice strained in both pain and fear. He whimpered slightly as the sword tilted into his skin ever so slightly. "Take what off?"

"The ward, low-life," Hiei answered, both hands on the hilt of the sword, arms held straight and his energy reserved towards not shaking in anger. "Remove it. Now."

"I-I don't know how," the man spoke, his words stuttering. Hiei watched as sweat rolled down his skin and his eyes shifted to the left before focusing back on the fire demon.

Blood rolled down the sword to the hilt as a thick red line appeared on the demon's neck and he gasped, clenching his eyes against the scorching pain. Hiei's eyes were half closed in unforeseen rage. "You are lying."

The sword moved away from his neck and yellow eyes shot open as the tip once more found its way between the man's throbbing legs. "I only impaled it, low-life. Do you wish me to _remove _it?"

The demon's breath quickened and he tried to shift away but to no prevail as the sword followed him. "N-no! I'll remove the ward!"

He moved over to Kurama as Yusuke held him close. Within a foot, he stretched out his hand, starting towards Kurama's neck. However, green eyes flashed open in pain and surprised awakening before fingertips touched his skin. They focused on the hand inches away from his face and then the demon beyond and he gasped, trying to get away.

"Stop, Kurama, stop!" Yusuke spoke rapidly, trying to hold him down, wrapping both arms around his chest. The fox cried out in silent pain and collapsed back against his protector, chest heaving with exhaustion. "It's alright, fox-boy, I've got you!"

Kurama's eyes widened and he tried to move against Yusuke, not understanding what was happening as the demon fearfully reached out and pressed two closed fingers against his neck. A sharp pain rippled down his spine and out through his nervous system to every point on his body.

The fox's mouth opened in a silent scream, his body tensing against Yusuke as his back arched up. Yusuke held him as well as he could as the demon drew slowly away, ink letters pulling out of Kurama's skin as he did so.

Turning to Hiei, the shape-shifter held up the floating black kanji and stared at the demon. The youkai pulled off his white scarf and pulled it tightly between his hands, holding it out to the demon. Moving his hand, the shape shifter laid the blank ink out on the scarf.

It sunk in to remain permanent until he pulled it off once more with his ki. Hiei pulled it back as the man sunk back down to his knees, his hand holding his crotch once more as he tried to control his labored breathing.

Wihtout a word, Hiei bent forward and wrapped the scarf around the demon's neck. Yellow eyes widened as he screamed, arms twitching and moving to the scarf as energy crackles around him. He clawed at the kanji, but couldn't pull it off without his energy, and the kanji closed his youki.

"Now apologize," Hiei demanded and those yellow eyes flew to the fire demon, wide in surprise and subsiding pain.

"What?" he shouted out in indignation. Any further resentment was cut off by the sword placed swiftly at his neck within a blurred space of a second.

"Now."

"Y-yes," he answered as he bit his lip and turned to the slowly calming fox. Yusuke held him close once more, still too protective of his friend to let him any closer to the conniving demon.

"Kurama, please listen to me," Hiei spoke, his voice immediately loosing its cold touch, but his red eyes would not meet the fox's. Green eyes now swirled with gold looked to him with little emotion but physical pain manifested within his crystal orbs. "This is the demon that killed my sister, murdered Kuwabara…and caused those wounds in your shoulder."

"Th-then Inari spoke the truth…"

Chocolate brown and crimson red eyes turned to Kurama in surprise. Yusuke opened his mouth in surprise. "Kurama, you talked!" he began, but stopped when the fox shook his head.

"No, without that ward my energy has increased to even more than what it had once been. Speaking with my mind is no longer a hardship." Yusuke noticed that, indeed, Kurama's mouth did not move, though the voice was loud in his mind and sounded much as if his ears were the ones to hear it.

Cold green eyes were locked on the demon before him, who was fidgeting nervously and keeping his angry, pained eyes away from those golden green ones. Yusuke slowly released Kurama as green ki began to flow from the wounds in his shoulders, physically manifesting itself in the sudden surge of power released from the ward.

"I…I'm sorry, alright?" the demon growled, turning his head away and locking his jaw. Kurama's eyes narrowed and he moved towards the demon, wincing slightly.

Yellow eyes looked up in surprise to see Kurama not a foot away and they opened in surprise as a fist came flying at them, slamming into his jaw. He cried out as he flew through the air with the force of the punch, slamming into the temple wall.

The wood cracked beneath him before he slid to the ground, blood dripping down his chin.

"Apology not accepted," Kurama snapped out, climbing to his feet and pressing his hand against the wound to his right shoulder, angered by his movements. "And now that my energy is back, I'll be using it to wipe you off of this wo-"

Yusuke stopped him, putting a hand once more to his chest. Chocolate eyes tried to see past the coldness on Kurama's face. They tried to find the friend they once knew. "We should take him before Koenma. He can be judged there."

"No," Kurama replied immediately, refusing to look at Yusuke. He gently put Yusuke's hand back at his side. "I need to do this. Please let me. I'm not giving you the choice, Yusuke…I _need_ this to feel whole again."

Yusuke looked deeply into his jade eyes before he backed off, nodding. He had found what he was looking for. Kurama was there, deep inside, needing freedom from his pain and suffering. He needed this.

The demon before them, not even able to climb to his feet, whimpered, trying to back away as Kurama resumed his movements toward him. Crouching down, the fox glared in fiery rage at him.

"I should summon a plant to rape you and let you relish in the pain you inflict," he hissed out and the demon before him shivered, his gasps coming in pained whines. "But…even I am not so cruel as to subject my plants to such a deed as raping the likes of you. I suppose that the pain and suffering of my death tree devouring you will have to suffice."

Yellow eyes opened wide and a scream pierced the night air as Kurama stood back, pulling a seed from his crimson strands. The cry resumed as it bloomed and burst into the bending, twisting branches of the death tree, each branch ending in gnashing mouths lined with teeth and dripping acidic saliva.

"No, please, no! I'm sorry! I'm sorry, please, have mercy!" the demon screamed out, having no where to run. Yusuke turned his head away as a shriek echoed through the room, acid dripping onto now burning flesh.

"I do have mercy," Kurama replied, bending close to the shape-shifter's face and green eyes flashed gold. His voice dropped several octaves to Youko's icy tones, "I'm not leaving you to Hiei's methods."

Yellow eyes opened wide and a pained scream scorched the room around them, stinging their ears and shooting through their souls. Hiei watched in emotionless content, satisfaction on his face. Kurama watched with a mischievous smirk upon his lips and eyes holding a pure ice that not even a koorime could manifest.

Yusuke shivered as minutes passed like hours and the screams never relented, never ceased until there was nothing left but the piercing shrieks of burning pain. He stepped outside the room as sizzling flesh finally drove him beyond his ability to endure.

He sat outside that room, the cries lasting longer and stretching further than he would have thought possible. Eventually, they died out in horrified terror and slowly, silence engulfed the temple. The door he sat beside slid open and Yusuke picked his head off the wall, turning to Kurama as he stepped from the room.

His wounds were once more bleeding, the youki level slowly fading from its immense surge. The incisions had been healed greatly, but they still bled with an angry tone. Yusuke climbed to his feet as Kurama continued past him. He glanced into the room to see Hiei, bent before the demon's remains, staring almost lifelessly.

Yusuke turned and followed after Kurama, catching up to him after running. He walked in silence for some time beside the fox demon, glancing ever five seconds or so.

"Staring will not get you the answers you seek." The voice was soft within his head. Though stern it no longer held the anger and the coldness as it had when speaking to the shape shifter.

"I…was just wondering…what are you going to do now?" Yusuke asked as he stopped and raised his arms in a questioning shrug. Kurama stopped his pace as well, staring at the detective.

"About what?" Kurama asked, resuming his walk. Yusuke, frowning, hurried after him as they started outside the temple, along the Japanese porch. Genkai had collapsed on the other side of the temple grounds, in the direction Kurama was now heading.

"About Hiei, what else?" he spoke indignantly. Kurama didn't seem to acknowledge him at first, before he slowly shook his head, finally showing some response.

"There is nothing to do," he replied as they paused along the temple porch. Kurama's eyes darted to the side as he spoke, and Yusuke followed his gaze. Green eyes were standing across the temple grounds to the snow-covered grounds.

Sitting atop Yukina's gravestone with one leg dangling was Hiei, eyes closed and head tucked into his black cloak against the cold air.

"But Kurama!" Yusuke grabbed the fox's arm, turning him hastily to look one another in the eye. "The guy loves you!"

"No," Kurama whispered, his voice quiet as he laid his hand atop the detective's. "I think…if he had loved me, he wouldn't have betrayed me…wouldn't have made me cry, Yusuke."

"But-" Yusuke's eyes turned down to the hand atop his and he tilted his head, eyes narrowing in his own grief. "He was consumed by Yukina's death…he wasn't thinking!"

"No pain, Yusuke, is worth that of another." Gently, Kurama took the detective's hand off his shoulder and turned, walking around the corner of the porch and disappearing from sight.

"Wh-what does that mean?" Yusuke wondered aloud, staring at the corner of the temple.

"It means, Detective, that no matter the pain caused, it doesn't warrant the action of passing to on to someone else." Yusuke turned to see Hiei, now leaning against the temple wall five feet from him. "Just as I did to Kurama."

"You can't just let him go!" Yusuke screamed out at Hiei, not believing what he was hearing. He couldn't understand how the two of them could possibly come to the conclusions that they had.

"Oh, I can't?" Hiei questioned, pushing off the wall and walking over to Yusuke. "Kurama has made his decision. Nothing now can change it, so let it be."

"That's not what he wants, Hiei!" Yusuke shouted out. "He wants you to go to him, Hiei! He wants you to love him."

"You don't know what he wants," Hiei replied as if he didn't care. Yusuke's angered glare battled between frustration and pity. "And even if you are right…I can no longer go against his wishes. Please, for his friendship, let it go."

Frustration quickly won with Hiei's last words. Chocolate eyes opened wide and he screamed out his rage, grabbing the surprised fire demon and slamming him into the temple wall. "I will not! By god, this is all a fucking misunderstanding and I will be damned if it is not fixed!"

Hiei's eyes remained calm and cool and he stared at the spirit detective holding him against the wall. "What are you going to do?"

Yusuke stared at him in frustration for a moment before he backed off, releasing Hiei. "I'm going to get you too fucking back together…pun intended." The fire demon rolled his eyes at the detective, but he continued, "And I'm going to do it with your cooperation."

Hiei frowned, staring at his friend as he dusted himself off briefly. "How?"

Yusuke's annoyance turned to a smirk. "With a little white lie and a few locked doors."

-o-o-o-o-

Yay! It's over!

ONE CHAPTER LEFT! And I'm not sure if there will be an epilogue or not. It depends on how long my plans for the chapter end up being.

I know this chapter was a tad short, and I'm sorry about that, but I had to end it where I had to end it.

Hope you guys enjoyed.

ONE CHAPTER LEFT!


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer**: Holy shit...I just finished a story.

Holy...Holy not nice word...

AHHHHHHHH! I managed to finish a story! THE WORLD IS ENDING I TELL YOU!

**Notes**: FIND SHELTER! THE END IS HERE!

**Review Responses**: THE END IS HERE!

HERE!

HERE!

HER-okay, enough of that.

Thank you all so much for sticking with me through this story. I know that there have been a lot of ups and downs, long delays and parts you guys surely didn't all agree with.

But thank you for sticking with me this far.

The ending of this story is a light comedy act to end a tragic story. However, I would like to express a few things about the ending.

First off, it is written mostly in short excerpts of dialogue with little description. This both increases the ease of reading as well as the ease of understanding the comedy.

Secondly, I apologize to all Kuwabara lovers. I had intended to have him play a much larger role than he ended up playing. I even had a lot of it written out, but by the end of these last two chapters, it no longer fit.

I greatly apologize for breaking my earlier promise.

Third: View the ending as you wish. Tell me what you think of it in all and perfect honesty please.

Fourth: No epilogue. I like this ending too much.

And lastly,

WARNING: This chapter is meant to frustrate you. DO NO BREAK YOUR COMPUTERS it will all come to an end eventually. Hang tight, be brave!

And I hope you enjoy the final chapter of the first fic I have ever finished on ff . net

-o-o-o-o-

**_Embrace the Winter Snow_**

_Chapter 13_

-o-o-o-o-

Kurama gave Yusuke a rather quizzical look as they walked through the hallways of the Reikai Palace. He wasn't quite sure he understood what this was about, but his friend had insisted that it was important.

"Yusuke, where are we going?" Kurama asked, his voice just beginning to tint with suspicion.

The detective shook his head. "We're almost there. Here," he said as he rounded the corner and came to an ordinary looking pair of double doors. He grabbed the handle of one and pulled it open, motioning for Kurama to go first.

The kitsune paused, staring at Yusuke with narrowed eyes. "What is this about, Yusuke?"

"I told you, Kurama," Yusuke answered not ready to answer at all and not preparing to, either. "Something important came up. Come on, they're waiting on us."

Slowly, Kurama followed his gesture to enter the room beyond once more and the fox slid into the room. It was completely dark, not a bit of light penetrating it but for the shimmering distance of the hallway's flickering torches.

"Yusuke, is this some sort of jo-" His mental words were cut off as the door slammed shut and the lights slowly flickered on.

Kurama's eyes widened to reveal the closed door, no Yusuke. He spun around to see a small, comfortable room. The walls were painted a slightly off white, the borders a dark teal to give the room a little more color. A room broke off from the small one he stood in to show the delicacies of a kitchen just beyond the open doorway. Another door, slightly smaller and to his left hinted at a bathroom.

A sofa was pushed against the wall, big enough for two. A low eating table sat in the center of the room, randomly organized pillows spread out around it for kneeling on. The carpet was lush and peach, fuzzy under his feet, despite his shoes.

However, all of was taken in rapidly and without hesitation or question. The main focus of both the room and the attention of piercing green eyes sat quietly on the sofa, childish red eyes looking straight back.

"Hello, Kurama." Hiei's voice was soft and he stared up, chin tilted back slightly in order to look up at the fox from his seated position. His legs were dangling off the edge of the couch, hands folding mindlessly within his lap.

"...Hello, Hiei," Kurama replied stiffly, crossing over to the table and setting his bag down beside it. It was nothing more than his book bag, but Yusuke had told him to back for a few days just in case, and so he had brought it along, filled with neatly folded clothing.

A long, awkward silence followed their greeting, as the two found interesting things around the room, far more entertaining than daring to look at the other's presence. After nearly ten minutes of this interminable silence, the fox gave a long and tired mental sigh, rubbing his temple.

"Hiei, things break and fall apart every day. Things that are...not repairable," Kurama's words brought those deep eyes of that childish face up to look unreadable into the fox's eyes. He tried to avoid the gaze without looking away, an impossible feat. "This is one of those things. Just let it go."

The fire demon let a small smile grace his face, but it was mostly emotionless and more for the motion than for the feeling behind it. "Don't tell me, Kurama; I wasn't the one who planned this."

The fox gave a sigh, already knowing that it was Yusuke who had done this, not Hiei. The fire demon had given him his space for the last week and a half. Though he had often felt his presence in the city, Kurama had not sensed Hiei watching him or drawing near.

Another interminable silence began to stretch between them, lasting almost as long as the first one and full of Kurama's shifting from one foot to the other, Hiei remaining mostly still on the couch.

"God, this is ridiculous!" Kurama growled, turning to look around him once more. "How long are we going to be in this place?"

"Looks like he's not going to let us out of here until he thinks the problem has been solved to his satisfaction," Hiei replied softly, already knowing all this from Yusuke's discussion and forced cooperation.

Kurama sighed and gave in, sitting down on one of the soft cushions, leaning against the table. "Then we are going to be here a very long time."

Hiei nodded wordlessly as another shorter silence passed yet again. "...I suppose that's why there is a bathroom...and a kitchen no less."

-o-o-o-o-

Three hours later found the two of them laying, bored beyond belief and having exchanged fewer words than hours that had passed. Hiei was sprawled out on the couch, arm tucked under his head to prop himself up on the armrest. Kurama lay next to the table, several feet away with his arm over his eyes, shielding from the light above.

"Kurama?" Hiei spoke, his voice soft as if afraid to break a glass being he held within the confines of his fingers. Kurama shifted restlessly, looking over to him. "I am sorry. I know I told you already, but I am truly sorry."

A relatively dead glare matched his gaze and Kurama looked away, sitting up and propping his chin on his arm, resting on the table. "This isn't some ningen fairy tale, Hiei. Sorry doesn't fix everything."

"I never expected it to," Hiei whispered in reply. "I just wanted you to know."

"Just drop it."

-o-o-o-o-

Seven hours total had passed and towards not better situation. Hiei yawned but his eyes remained open, despite the sleepy blinking he was fighting off. Kurama sat up slightly to prop up on his elbows, now on his stomach and looked to him and the small, cat like image and sound that followed.

"Are you tired?" he asked curiously with a tilt of his head. The fire demon didn't get tired often, not when he could go days without sleep.

"Yes," the reply came truthfully.

There was a brief pause filled with content silence on one end and curious quietness on the other. It didn't last long.

"Why?"

"No reason." Kurama looked skeptical at the vague, unbelievable response and Hiei didn't miss it. He rolled over on his side, facing the fox as he added, "Just not enough sleep."

Another brief pause passed under consideration.

"Nightmares?"

"No, just a lack of sleep in general."

"Oh..." The answer finally seemed to satiate the fox and Hiei closed his eyes once more, never having believed to begin with that this was going to work out like Yusuke wanted it to.

The silence did not last long.

"Forced?"

Hiei sighed but looked up, opening his eyes to meet forest green ones. "Yes, forced."

"Why?"

"No reason."

"_Why_?"

"Kuram-"

"_Why_!" The last question was much more of a demand, and the tone was fierce, giving no room to weasel out of it. Hiei refrained from wincing, meeting Kurama's eyes the entire time.

When he spoke his voice was stubborn, "Guilt is no easier to forget when you're asleep."

There was another of those damned pauses for momentarily silence that taunted Hiei with their temporary limits. "So...in other words: nightmares."

The fire demon turned away, closing his eyes once more as he forced down the lump in his throat. When he spoke, his voice came out as nothing more than a weak whisper for which he cursed himself for.

"Yeah, nightmares."

Hiei closed his eyes again, thinking the fox had given up once more and returned to his careless mind wandering as both of them stared at the ceiling above their heads.

He was wrong.

"...What of?"

Hiei cried out his annoyance as he sat up. "Argh, Kurama! I thought you said I should drop it!"

"Sorry," Kurama replied in a frosty tone, his voice bitter. "I've been in silence for five years, forgive me for my need to talk."

Hiei gave a sigh. "It is not your voice that bothers me, Kurama. It is your choice of topic. And...after five years of silence, I figured that an eternity of such would not be far off in my sights."

Kurama's eyes narrowed at the fire demon. "You wouldn't subject yourself to that," he sneered out, turning away from the laying demon.

"Yes, I would," Hiei replied softly, but without hesitation or sign of faltering. Kurama turned right back over to look at him, almost seething.

"I'll believe that when I see it."

"Then perhaps you should start looking."

The blow shut Kurama up momentarily and Hiei closed his eyes, saying nothing more. The fox stared at him first in surprise and then in anger, but Hiei didn't move and his breathing grew more even and quiet, so much so that Kurama stared at him, no longer able to hear his intake of oxygen.

"Hiei?" he called softly, a sudden emotion gripping his chest when he got no response. "...Hiei?" he called a little louder, shifting to his knees. Still he got no response and a bit of fear grabbed him. "Hiei!"

"What, Kurama?" Hiei growled out, sitting up in a flurry of emotion, turning a glare that lacked anger to the fox sitting on his knees, staring from behind red bangs, green eyes wide.

"...Nothing."

-o-o-o-o-

Two hours passed in subsequent silence, slightly awkward but more content than it had been to begin with. Neither demon could find rest in sleep, both afraid of what he might reveal to the other in his dreams.

"Wish he'd put a bed in here, at least," Kurama mumbled, rolling over on the pillows. Hiei had offered the couch three times already, but each time the fox turned it down indignantly.

"You should sleep outdoors more often, Kurama. Break your habit of dependency on ningen luxuries."

Kurama frowned, propping up on an arm to glare shortly at the fire demon. "I am not dependent on them. It would simply be nice if there was one."

"Hn." Hiei blinked his eyes at the unmoving ceiling. "I'm sure you can ask him for one when we get out of here."

A long, uncomfortable silence passed over the room, breaking their ongoing record of an hour and forty-two minutes since the silence had turned more tolerable.

"...When do you think that will be?"

Hiei rolled over once more to look at Kurama with blank eyes. "Judging on our progress so far...?" He trailed off and then silently rolled back over without finishing his sentence.

Kurama frowned again. "Judging on the progress made so far -- what? What were you going to say, Hiei?"

"...Never, Kurama. I was going to say never."

"Well...for the sake of having work tomorrow, can we just call it a truce?" It was a weak attempt at humor, but it became even weaker when Hiei didn't take it as such.

"You honestly think he'll go for that?"

Kurama's expression fell to a look of actual sorrow, his frown turning more into a remorseful grimace. "Do you simply refuse to try?"

"Try what?"

"Will you not even try to convince me that you are sorry?"

"I already told you I was. And besides...what point would there be in trying to repair what can not be repaired?"

"...Then you really believe what he had can not be fixed?"

"No, I believe it can. But I also believe it was you who said it couldn't be."

"And...if it could be repaired?"

A long pause followed Kurama's new statement as Hiei rolled the words through his head and his answer over his tongue. He turned away, drawing eyes away from green orbs and unresponsive ceilings.

"Then I guess I would be trying a lot harder."

-o-o-o-o-

Another three hours had ticked by on the clock sitting on the wall, and Hiei stared at it with almost delirious eyes that followed the _tick tick tick_ of the second hand.

Kurama was first to break the silence once more, and his voice seemed hesitant. Hiei could tell he had been thinking over his words and the discussion he was about to initiate carefully.

"Hiei...I can not simply accept your apology," he spoke in softer terms than he had since entering the room and the fire demon tilted his head, though his eyes did not leave the clock. "You...hurt me."

"Yes," he whispered in reply. "I know."

"A single word can't fix what has been done."

"No. It can't."

"Then why aren't you trying harder?" Kurama's voice had become choked with an anger he was holding back but his fists shook and his eyes were locked on the poor, unsuspecting wall that received his fiery gaze.

"Because," Hiei answered, his voice soft to counter the harshness in the fox's, "you already told me not to. You have already told me it is not what you want."

"What about what you want? Is this what you want?"

Hiei did not answer the almost desperate question.

"Is this what you want, Hiei?" Kurama repeated, seething between clenched teeth.

Several more minutes ticked by on the clock before Hiei finally brought himself to answer, "No. It is not what I want, Kurama."

"Then why are you doing it?" the fox screamed, climbing to his feet. "Why are you not doing what you want?"

"Because I have been selfish long enough," Hiei answered in a dull, almost monotone voice. "I have caused you enough pain."

"So you are just giving up because you think it's what _I_ want?"

Hiei turned over to look him dead in the eye, a blank stare meeting an angry glare. "Isn't it?"

"Well..." Kurama seemed at a momentary loss, blinking in the sudden uncertainty brought on by that simple question. "Well, no...but I don't exactly want to be locked in a room for the rest of my life, either."

Hiei's gaze traced away, eyes once more finding the clock. "Yes, well, I said I was going to stop being selfish. I said nothing about Yusuke."

-o-o-o-o-

A total of twelve hours had passed without word from their "captor" and without sign of any improvement of their locked up situation. Hiei had gotten down on the ground, telling Kurama that whether he took the couch or not, the fire demon was going to be on the floor.

Kurama had moved to the couch.

Now, two hours later, the fox was idly playing with the hem of his shirt, staring at nothing and dreaming of things he couldn't quite grasp and never could recall.

"Hiei, are you still awake?"

"Yes, Kurama."

"Why?"

"No reason."

"Nightmares?"

"No. Just a desire not to, this time."

Kurama rolled onto his side, tucking a hand beneath his chin to stare at the fire demon's curled position on his side. "A desire not to sleep?"

"Yes, Kurama."

"Why-"

"We've already been over this."

"-have you stopped calling me 'Fox'?"

There was a surprised silence that followed, as there always was, and it slowly turned into one of uncertainty that Hiei tried to hide behind.

"No reason."

"You're lying."

"Yes, I am."

"Hiei, Why have you stopped calling me 'Fox'?"

"So I could start lying, I guess."

"Hiei..." The growl was one of warning and the fire demon gave a soft sigh.

"I was very close to the person I called 'Fox.' A simple nickname that helped me accept him in the form he had adopted. The name reminded me of his demonic origins and made accepting him easier...made falling in love with him less painful..."

"So...what?" Kurama asked, his voice almost like a teenager not understanding his parent's new rule. "You no longer love his ningen body?"

"...A true nickname," Hiei continued, ignoring Kurama's third-person reference, "one meant for a lifetime, must be earned by both the one called and the one calling. I have fallen out of that privilege."

"Oh..." Kurama replied, at a loss for a more intelligent response. "...Just the caller?"

Hiei did not reply for some time, and instead chose to stand and idly make his way to the kitchen. As he did, he finally gave a response, "He chose his own worth. It is up to the called to decide his own."

-o-o-o-o-

Four hours had passed, giving a total of sixteen to the two demons as they sat in the kitchen, Kurama idly playing with a spoon, trying to balance it on the counter between numb, inattentive fingers. His mind wasn't really focused on the distraction, contradicting the point of it.

Hiei was leaning against the counters, just staring at the spoon, lost in its silver depths and having nothing better to do than loose himself to his own thoughts.

"Hiei?" Kurama finally spoke and the fire demon looked up to meet his eyes. The silences were growing less uncomfortable and the two found it becoming slowly easier to look into the other's eyes.

"Why...why did you blame be for Yukina's death?"

Hiei did not try to avoid the question this time, having suspected it would come up that day. He held his eyes as he gave his steady response, "My logic told me it was you. When...you were at the temple, my logic stated that you would feel any demon approach. Logic said you would guard Yukina, even with your life.

"It didn't calculate things like shape-shifters, or possible inability to protect her...Didn't think about if you had your hands filled trying to fight off your own attackers. So...when I returned that morning to find a demon had attacked and Yukina was dead with you still alive...My own irrational logic led to illogical actions."

Kurama nodded in a form of understanding, though not forgiveness. "And now?"

"I have abandoned my logic and left it for complete and total irrationalism."

"And what will you do now?"

"Be irrational. Did we not just cover this?"

"Hiei." That warning growl caused Hiei to pause again, reverting back to the seriousness of the conversation at hand.

"Return to life. I am a day overdue to Mukuro."

"And what will you do there?"

"Train for endless days...perform worthless border errands," Hiei recited, already not looking foreword to it, but not giving it much thought or care. "Stare out at snow covered mountains in regret."

In all honesty, he had not realized he spoke his last reference aloud, but Kurama heard it easily and his green eyes tilted to the side, glancing away briefly.

"...But not hate?"

"No," Hiei responded, not letting many minutes of silence lapse between the question and his reply, just enough to acknowledge the fact that he had spoke aloud. "There is no hate worth remembering."

Kurama returned to his silent ministrations to the spoon, choosing not to answer but rather to dwell on what his ex-lover had spoken.

-o-o-o-o-

As the twenty-one hour mark passed, Kurama finally acknowledged his stomach's plea for sustenance and he walked over to the fridge, yanking it open to scan through junk food, fried food, grilled food, fruits, and vegetables. The side door was lined with various drinks.

"Man, he was prepared to hold us for a while."

Hiei noted the past tense used with slight interest but made no comment on it as Kurama grabbed himself an apple.

"You want something, Hiei?" he asked even as he grabbed a second apple. Hiei shook his head.

"No."

"Hiei," Kurama muttered much like the motherly friend he used to pose as even as he closed the refrigerator door. "We've been in here nearly an entire day. You have to be hungry by now."

The fire demon shrugged. "Not really."

Kurama frowned. "Hiei?"

"I ate before I got here."

"You're lying."

"Hn. No, I-"

"You're lying to me. Why?"

"I'm not lyi-"

"How long as it been since you ate?"

"Kurama, I ate this mor-" His words were cut off by a sharp slap of skin on skin. Wide red eyes focused on the wall where his head had been pushed after the hard hit Kurama had delivered to the side of his face.

"Stop lying to me." The demand was total, even causing Hiei to want to back away in surprise, not wanting to be on the receiving end of that voice. "How long?"

Hiei managed to look away from those fiery green eyes that shot through him as if he were nothing but a speck to be examined. "Since the night at the temple."

Kurama shoved the apple into his hand before pushing past him to sit back down at the counter. "Eat it."

"I'm not hun-"

"Eat it!" Kurama's cold, harsh command caused Hiei to send a glare his way, biting into the smooth, green fruit.

Kurama let their conversation lapse into silence for some time before he shifted, annoyed, in his seat. "I suppose I should ask how long it's been sense you slept, or would that answer just be the same as the food?"

Hiei couldn't meet his harsh glare, though he had one of his own that was, once more, received by the innocent bystander of a wall. "The same."

"Why?"

"Why not?"

"Because you're going to kill yourself."

Hiei snorted, setting the half eaten apple down. "Everyone dies, why not speed up the process?"

Kurama's eyes widened briefly in a horrified expression. He had lived for five years in hell and not once thought of ending his life. Life was precious, not something replaceable or recoverable once you ruined it.

He growled low in the back of his throat, sounding much like the fox he was. "You're not that dumb."

"I've done a lot of dumb things over the last five years."

"You're still not _that_ dumb."

"Then I guess the last week proves you wrong."

-o-o-o-o-

As the twenty-four hour mark slowly passed and Kurama's eyes were drawn to the sudden ringing of a twelve mark that should not be ringing, but must be programmed to their days spent in the room, he glanced at Hiei.

He could no longer run away from the fate that had brought them back in this room, even if Fate was but the meddling of a friend.

"Why do you succumb so willingly to this life you have created, Hiei?" he suddenly growled out and the curled up form blinked in surprise from his spot beside the table, leaning against the wooden frame.

"...There is nothing else out there for me, Kurama."

"Are you so certain that you are worthy of that fate?" The fox's resolve was beginning to fade as his voice slowly cracked under the strain of hiding his own pain.

"Kurama...what are you doing?" Hiei whispered, staring at the pained expression on his companions face. Within seconds of asking, a mask had slid into place, revealing a calm serenity, but unable to hide the sorrow completely.

"I...Just asking questions," Kurama whispered in reply, fiddling with his hands in his lap.

"Well, how many questions can you possibly have?" Hiei asked somewhat dubiously, a joking ring among it that made a small smile come to Kurama's face.

Maybe this was getting a little easier.

"I don't know," he replied, "as many as there are until I run out?"

Another lapse of silence fell over them as Kurama leaned against the back of the couch, idly fingering the hem of his shirt once more as Hiei wrapped his arms around his knees, staring again at nothing.

"...Are you out of questions, Kurama?"

"No," the fox whispered after a moment's hesitation. "I have one more...and I want your answer to be a worthy one, whatever it may be. No more lies."

Hiei stared at him in surprise for a moment before he slowly nodded his head. "What question, Kurama?"

"...Do you still love me?"

A silence followed that nearly broke Kurama's heart, and he grabbed slowly at his chest, massaging that area but refusing to break down before he received his answer.

"...There is...no worthy answer to that question."

A sob racked Kurama's body and he bowed his head, his eyes misting with tears he had not let fall in so very long. Not in so very, very long.

"Wh-Why not?"

Hiei refused to look away, despite that the fox was no longer looking at him. "Because to give a worthy answer...I myself would have to be."

Kurama looked up in surprised anger, eyes watery. "And you are not?" he asked, furiously blinking back the tears and the stinging in his throat.

Hiei looked him right in the eyes and held his gaze so penetratingly that Kurama could not look away. "I am worthy only of a dismal fate laid by the stepping stones of these past five years; not of loving you."

"But...but you said you were no longer going to be selfish!"

"Yes, Kurama, that is what I said."

"Then stop being selfish and let me decide your worth!"

Hiei looked away from the scream, wincing slightly as he soon found their roles reversed, and he unable to meet his fox's eyes. "And you think yourself capable of judging me?"

Red eyes opened wide as slender hands grabbed his shoulder in a white-knuckled grip, forcing him to look into those piercing emerald eyes. Hiei had not sensed Kurama move, and was unprepared for their sudden proximity.

"Do you love me, Hiei, or not?"

Hiei's shoulders were shuddering with the exertion of containing his own emotions, but he could not look away from those eyes as crystal tears ran down Kurama's soft cheeks.

Tears that he cried not for the snow, but for the fire before him.

"...Yes, Kurama...I love you."

"Then stop calling me Kurama!" he screamed, his fingers digging into Hiei's arms in desperation.

The fox pressed his lips against Hiei's desperately and the fire demon wrapped his arms around the fox, clinging to his shirt just as urgently.

Unheard, the doors behind them unlocked.

Unknown, the snow feel quietly outside the Reikai Palace, a silent tribute.

Unheeded, their tears mingled against one another's before falling together to splash upon the floor.

-o-o-o-o-

**_The End_**

-o-o-o-o-


	14. End Notes

**Authors Notes of _Embrace the Winter Snow_**

Hi everyone. I'd like to thank you all formerly one more time for reading this story and sticking it to the end. I cannot express in words how much it means to me.

I am truly happy that my writings can entertain people and are enjoyed by others than myself.

Although I cannot thank you all personally, you have my undying gratitude for your words and your enjoyment of this story.

This is the first story that I have finished on fanfiction . net. I guess that means that the "Finished Story" section of my biography won't be empty anymore.

I'm astonished at how many reviews I got for this, and the kind words that many of you wrote to me. I'm overwhelmed with the fact that this tale has ended, however.

Winter Snow was one of my best, and most liked ideas in my opinion, and writing it has truly been a joy for me. I am, once more, eternally grateful to all of you readers, and I hope that I can continue to entertain your minds with my writings.

Thank you, everyone.

_DemonUntilDeath_


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